West Ham are embarking on an entirely new sporting project with Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui replacing David Moyes, bringing a more pragmatic and defensive approach to a side that was a sieve at times in 2023/24.
The Hammers blew a potential European football return last season, finishing ninth in the table behind Manchester United due to mounting injuries and poor play as a cohesive unit.
Lopetegui aims to change a few things for West Ham this season, and he will want to have a strong attacking anchoring point in a new, out-and-out No. 9.
Formerly Sevilla’s coach, Lopetegui has been interested in bringing their best attacker, striker Youssef En-Nesyri, to London to potentially form a trio with Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus.
However, En-Nesyri isn’t the only option available for West Ham this summer, and, in fact, a new target for the Hammers may just be a considerably better option.
According to a report from Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, West Ham have joined Chelsea with serious interest in Lille star striker Jonathan David, who is also on Manchester United’s wishlist. He has been linked to Tottenham, too.
Although it used to be thought that David’s evaluation was at a minimum of 50 million euros, a lack of moves in past windows has led reporters like Plettenberg to relay that the Canadian international could cost a mere 20-25 million euros.
That could make David a tantalizing market opportunity for West Ham, and while clubs of the stature of Chelsea and Manchester United may thus be seen as the favorites, West Ham have more than a fighting chance, especially at that price point.
The 27-year-old En-Nesyri is an effective striker who scored 16 goals last season on an awful Sevilla side, and he scored 18 a few years ago in 2020/21 as a breakout star in LaLiga.
However, En-Nesyri never scored double-digit goals between those seasons, isn’t much of a creator, and has no resale value as he approaches 30.
Meanwhile, David will cost around the same amount of money as En-Nesyri and is just 24. Furthermore, he scored 24 goals with 1.4 key passes per game in the 2022/23 season, which was a marked improvement from a 2021/22 campaign that saw him linked to Real Madrid.
David was still quality last season with 19 goals for Lille and has better creative numbers and hold-up play than En-Nesyri. They are comparable finishers, and David is a more explosive athlete.
If it comes down to these two players, West Ham should absolutely see David as the “Plan A” and En-Nesyri as the option in case they are not able to sign the 24-year-old over the likes of Chelsea and Man United.
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