Nikhil Vinod
Why Duvan Zapata will be an instant upgrade on Javier Hernandez
West Ham United are keen on Sampdoria loanee striker Duvan Zapata as a potential replacement for Valencia-bound Mexican forward Javier Hernandez, according to reports from the Sun.
Javier Hernandez joined West Ham from Bayer Leverkusen in July 2017 after a couple of decent seasons in Germany. He has played for Manchester United in England and has two Premier League winner’s medals to his name.
He has even spent a season at Real Madrid while on loan from United in 2014 which means that he is obviously a top-quality striker whose finishing and goal-poaching skills are unquestionable.
He has played in the Premier League for many years now and even though he has over 200 English top-flight appearances, he has only managed 13 goals in his 50 games for West Ham since joining in 2017.
With reports linking Hernandez to Valencia, West Ham must dip their hands in the market for a new striker or risk being over-run by the competition in the Premier League.
They have identified the striker who they want as a replacement for the departing Mexican and that is Atalanta forward Duvan Zapata. The Colombian has been in blistering form so far this term and has already notched up an amazing 17 goals for his club.
The fact that he has even managed 5 assists gives a clear indication as to what a quality striker he really is. After developing as a youth product at Club de America, he was scouted and signed by Estudiantes before crossing continents to join Italian Serie A side Napoli.
He was a Napoli player until the start of this season when he was sold to Sampdoria before they eventually loaned him out to Atalanta.
He is a monstrous centre-forward who physically dominates defenders and is a massive presence in either box. His height and inhuman strength make him a very potent threat from set-pieces. He refuses to be bullied by defenders, which makes him an ideal fit for the Premier League.
His finishing in the box is excellent and he is even capable of the odd belter from outside the box. While he is a decent passer of the ball as well, what makes him stand out is his hold-up play.
He loves to work with his back facing the goal and makes sharp runs which is why he has scored so many goals this term.
He would certainly be a good addition to this West Ham side who could really use an alternative to the outbound Hernandez. Zapata’s strong and direct approach could be the fresh change up-front the Hammers need.
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