West Ham agree terms to sign £13m “diamond”

Michail Antonio will go down as one of West Ham United’s modern-day greats.

Earlier this week, the club confirmed that the Jamaican international had left the club following the expiration of his contact.

Thus, in need of a new striker, has Graham Potter identified his top target?

West Ham’s search for a new striker

Antonio joined the Hammers from Nottingham Forest a decade ago for a reported fee of £7m, initially signed as a right-back, but ultimately transformed into their best centre-forward of the 21st century, scoring 83 goals in claret and blue, making him the club’s record scorer of all-time in the Premier League.

His final appearance for West Ham came in December, suffering a life-threatening car crash soon after, stating himself “I was close to dying”, before returning to competitive football earlier this summer, featuring in all three of Jamaica’s matches at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in June.

Even at 35, Antonio will take some replacing, but have the Irons identified their man?

Well, according to French outlet wiw Sports, West Ham have reached an agreement in principle on personal terms to sign Idrissa Gueye from Metz, adding that negotiations have reached the final stages.

Elsewhere, a report by Foot Mercato claims that the deal will cost €15m (around £13m), adding that both Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund had previously been interested in the youngster.

Well, if his West Ham career turns out to be even half as successful as the aforementioned Antonio, that’ll prove to be a bargain.

What Idrissa Gueye will bring to West Ham

Given that he is just 18 years old, not a lot is widely known about Gueye, so what do we know?

Well, he came through the famous Génération Foot academy in Senegal, before following the familiar pathway from there to Metz, a path trodden by Sadio Mané, Papiss Cissé, Ismaïla Sarr, Pape Matar Sarr and former hammer Diafra Sakho, as well as many others, in recent years.

What makes Gueye interesting is that he only made this jump in January, scoring five goals in 17 regular-season Ligue 2 games, thereby averaging a goal every 222 minutes.

This saw les Grenats finish third, subsequently beating both Dunkerque and then Stade Reims in the play-offs as they won promotion back to Ligue 1.

Speaking to French outlet Lesoleil, Metz sporting director Frédéric Arpinon stated that Gueye “reminds me a little” of Olivier Giroud, adding “I hope for him that he will have the same trajectory”.

Elsewhere, Pete O’Rourke of Football Insider labels him ‘one of the hottest properties’ in European football, while Sébastien Denis of Foot Mercato asserts that he is a “diamond” of a striker.

Gueye won Metz’s player of the month, as well as Ligue 2 young player of the month during an eye-catching February, so let’s assess his statistics.

As the table emphasises, Gueye is a player of enormous talent, but one who is still very raw, which shouldn’t be too surprising considering, as recently as January, he was plying his trade in the Senegalese Premier League which, according to the CAF association rankings, is the 17th strongest league in Africa.

So why will he be the ideal Antonio replacement?

Well, West Ham already boast Niclas Füllkrug and have also signed Callum Wilson on a free transfer, both of whom are vastly experienced, allowing Gueye to learn from them, and not demanding that he is a starter from day one.

According to Global Football Rankings, Ligue 2 is the 30th strongest league in the world, making it the fifth best second-tier on the planet, behind the EFL Championship (11th), the Zweite Bundesliga (17th), Serie B (19th) and the Segunda División (24th).

Thus, Gueye has already proven he can score goals at a relatively high level, Ligue 2 is one place above the Saudi Pro League interestingly, and he appears to have all the attributes to thrive in the Premier League.