West Ham United’s new dawn bears a striking resemblance to the old ones: they lack power up front.
Despite spending more than £120 million ($159.4m) on nine players over the summer, Niklas Fulkrug was the only striker to challenge Michail Antonio and Danny Ings for the starting spot. But he injured his calf while on international duty with Germany, which saw him miss this weekend’s game against Chelsea.
Manager Tim Steidten and Julen Lopetegui have been praised for West Ham’s business dealings this summer but Fulkrug’s injury highlights the lack of attacking alternatives.
Against Fulham, it was not difficult to read Lopetegui’s frustration at the mistakes of goalkeeper Antonio Bernd Leno or the defensive duo formed by Joachim Andersen and Calvin Bassey. As a result, Antonio was taken off at half-time.
West Ham had previously considered the 34-year-old as their first choice but his diminishing attacking effectiveness is a cause for concern. He has scored in each of his last seven league games.
Antonio remains West Ham’s top scorer in the Premier League with 67 goals, but he went 13 league games without scoring last season and finished the campaign with seven goals in 32 appearances. The Jamaican international is entering the final year of his contract (after Gremio rejected a £500,000 bid for the striker in June) and, for all his achievements, he should not be relied upon as West Ham’s main striker.
Antonio started against Palace but came off in the 62nd minute (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Another solution to West Ham’s forward problems appears to be to play Jarrod Bowen as the lone striker. But Bowen is the club’s best right-wing striker. He proved his ability last season, scoring 20 goals and assisting 10 in 44 games, his best season for the club.
Moyes tried to move him to centre-forward, but he knew he was better at running into defenders in the channels. (Although he did play as a striker in England’s final substitute game against Finland earlier this month.)
In AtléticoIn a survey of West Ham fans earlier this month, 62.1 per cent of respondents believed the attack needed strengthening. And the stats bear this out too: West Ham are second-bottom of the league in terms of big chances (four) and shots on target (11). Ipswich Town are bottom of both categories with three and eight respectively.
Fulkrug, a £27m signing from Borussia Dortmund, could help alleviate attacking problems but Lopetegui has outperformed Antonio in league games against Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Manchester City.
Fulkrug was still close to full fitness after a full season. Instead, Germany’s involvement has been limited to substitute appearances, with the exception of one start in the Carabao Cup against Bournemouth.
Against Crystal Palace, Fulcrum felt the love of fans chanting his name around the world. But given the number of strikers who have failed to live up to expectations, they could be forgiven for simply hoping Fulcrum does not become the latest defeat.
One concern is that Lopetegui wants to implement a high-pressing system where Fullkrug does not thrive – a point made in a video posted on X, which shows him outpacing Bournemouth winger Dango Ouattara, despite being a starter.
Fullkrug in full 5 yard offside, still kicking the ball 💀 pic.twitter.com/kCjZrhNmOl
-Scott (@scottygfc) August 28, 2024
But as the comments have said, this is not his game. Instead, Fulkrug must feed the crosses and, if he does return to the lineup, he will rely on Mohamed Qudous, Lucas Paqueta and Bowen to create opportunities for him.
“I’m good with both feet and I also have good aerial ability,” Fulkrug told West Ham’s website. “Those are my strengths and I think in recent seasons I’ve been able to show that I can also help out. If I’m in a good position, it’s going to be difficult to defend against me.”
“I think one of my biggest qualities is scoring and I can score with my left foot, my right foot and also with my aerial ability. I hope to get a lot of crosses because last year I scored as much as I wanted. If I didn’t understand that, it meant I couldn’t reach my full potential as much as I wanted.”
Ings’ impact has been minimal since his £15m move from Aston Villa in January 2023, signed by former manager David Moyes. A modest haul of five goals in 54 games proves that.
On paper, however, Ings is regarded as a better finisher than Antonio and Fulcrum. The 31-year-old had been set to leave in the summer, but after the draw against Fulham he could be more involved.
In July, Ings worked with Ben Rosenblatt, England’s head fitness coach, to ensure he was fit before returning to pre-season. He was ready for his moment at Craven Cottage.
The signing of the new West Ham regime this summer has been praised, but the striker question refuses to go away. It is an issue Lopetegui could not avoid and one the club will never learn from.
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