West Ham desperate for strikers
WEST HAM have made signing quality strikers a priority to avoid the disappointment of last season, joint-chairman David Gold said yesterday. Injury-hit Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho scored a combined eight Premier League goals in a difficult first season at the London Stadium, with West Ham heavily reliant on midfielders Michail Antonio and Manuel Lanzini to help make up the deficit. None of West Ham’s players reached the 10-goal mark as the club finished 11th in the table and Gold confirmed that signing goalscorers for next season is the club’s main target. ‘It’s clear to most fans that we are desperate for centre forwards. Andy Carroll is injury-prone as we know, we have had an injury problem with Sakho and we have just got to bring in centre forwards,’ Gold told talkSPORT. ‘Without strikers, you struggle in the Premier League. You struggle in any division because strikers are your key players. You have to spend your money wisely but it must be on strikers, particularly strikers who have had experience with Premier League football — the very best we can afford.’ Defender Pablo Zabaleta has been the club’s only signing so far in the summer transfer window, arriving from Manchester City on a free transfer. Italy defender Angelo Ogbonna has signed a new five-year deal. The 29-year-old missed most of the second half of last season after having knee surgery in January, returning only for the Hammers’ final Premier League game of the campaign — an impressive 2-1 win at Burnley. Ogbonna’s fresh contract keeps him at the London Stadium until 2022, having originally signed for Slaven Bilic’s side from Juventus in 2015. ‘I think we have a long season ahead and my target is to be better than last season,’ said Ogbonna. ‘I’m really grateful for this new deal. ‘We finished in 11th position but very close to eighth and we know we can do better.’ Ogbonna, who has won 13 caps for Italy, is hoping to be fit enough to join West Ham’s pre-season tour of Germany and Austria.