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West Ham indicate interest in Napoli forward Giacomo Raspadori

West Ham United have made contacts with Napoli to sign Italian centre-forward Giacomo Raspadori, according to Italian transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio.

The 24-year-old has struggled to nail a starting berth at the club, making mostly substitutional appearances this season. Antonio Conte has preferred Romelu Lukaku upfront—and it’s no surprise the Italian forward could be on his way out of Naples, having failed to come off the bench for Gli Azzurri in the last two games against Atalanta and Juventus.

West Ham are now set to take advantage of the situation as Di Marzio claims that the East London club have ‘made moves’ to enquire about the possibility of signing Raspadori as the winter transfer window deadline draws close.

However, with no replacement lined up, the Italian club are hesitant to let Raspadori—who is also of keen interest to Marseille—depart this winter, according to the report.

The Italian forward still has three years left on his contract at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, and is valued at €15m (£12m) by Transfermarkt so any potential deal shouldn’t break the bank.

Centre-forward dilemma

West Ham are facing a centre-forward dilemma this season, with summer signing Niclas Füllkrug managing just two Premier League goals in an injury-hit campaign and 19-year-old Luis Guilherme accumulating only 50 minutes of game time across all competitions. Adding to their woes, Michail Antonio has been ruled out for the remainder of the season following lower-limb surgery necessitated by a car accident in December.

Crysencio Summerville, who was also signed to the frontline, has failed to hit his mark this season with only one goal in 22 games.

Their goalscoring woes have been visible this season, and it’s no surprise their 28 goals scored is the joint second lowest in the Premier League after matchweek 23.

The club are now looking to salvage the goalscoring situation with the addition of Raspadori—whose struggles are understandably due to the coach’s preference for a forward that suits his style.

However, the question remains if the Italian – who has only reached double figures in goals once in the last five seasons – is the right answer to West Ham’s problems in attack.

To avoid another Gianluca Scamacca situation, a loan deal could be a more sensible option for the Italian, as his link-up play, technicality, and tenacious pressing abilities are qualities that Graham Potter would admire.

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