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All change in West Ham’s forward line

All change in West Ham’s forward line

West Ham have spent the summer looking to strengthen their strike-force with a quality forward and according to Sky Sports, the Hammers have lodged a bid of around £20million for Swansea forward Andre Ayew.

The Ghana international only arrived in Wales last summer as a free agent from Marseille, but proved a big hit scoring 12 goals in the top-flight last season, many from a left-wing position.

The Welsh club are understandable reluctant to let Ayew leave, especially as forwards Bafetimbi Gomis and Alberto Paloschi have already left the club this summer. That leaves Francesco Guidolin’s club very low on striking options.

The Swans have been linked with a move for Sevilla’s Spanish international striker Fernando Llorente and are reportedly looking to sign two strikers this summer. However, once they have recruited striking reinforcements then they may listen to the Hammers offer.

The Hammers have accepted a bid of around £16million from West Brom for unsettled striker Diafra Sakho and the 26-year-old is expected to move on. The striker put in a transfer request earlier in the summer when Slaven Bilic’s club rejected a bid from Sunderland.

Bilic and the club hierarchy were already looking to strengthen the teams forward before Sakho’s likely departure, so it now seems even more important. The side from the East End have been linked with a number of strikers.

There will be high expectations for the Hammers next season. The team impressed last season finishing in seventh position in the Premier League table. Bilic’s sides will be looking to push on next season in their debut campaign at their new ground the Olympic Stadium.

Premier League
OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/-
1
Arsenal 83 36 26 5 5 60
2
Manchester City 82 35 25 7 3 54
3
Liverpool 78 36 23 9 4 43
4
Aston Villa 67 36 20 7 9 20
5
Tottenham 60 35 18 6 11 11
6
Newcastle United 56 35 17 5 13 22
7
Chelsea 54 35 15 9 11 11
8
Manchester United 54 35 16 6 13 -3
9
West Ham 49 36 13 10 13 -14
10
Bournemouth 48 36 13 9 14 -11
11
Brighton 47 35 12 11 12 -4
12
Wolverhampton 46 36 13 7 16 -11
13
Fulham 44 36 12 8 16 -4
14
Crystal Palace 43 36 11 10 15 -8
15
Everton 37 36 12 9 15 -11
16
Brentford 36 36 9 9 18 -8
17
Nottingham Forest 29 36 8 9 19 -18
18
Luton Town 26 36 6 8 22 -29
19
Burnley 24 36 5 9 22 -35
20
Sheffield United 16 36 3 7 26 -65

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