Why Burak Yilmaz would be a smart short-term investment for West Ham
West Ham are having a disappointing season and manager Manuel Pellegrini is under pressure. The Hammers are placed 15th in the Premier League table at the moment with 19 points from 17 matches.
It is clear that West Ham have lacked any kind of potency in the final third of the pitch. And that is something Manuel Pellegrini should address in January, without fail.
Sebastien Haller, who was signed from Eintracht Frankfurt before the start of the season for £45million, has scored four goals and provided one assist in 15 Premier League appearances for the Hammers so far.
The club’s struggles surely haven’t helped the 25-year-old’s chances of settling down in east London.
Haller has been used as a solitary front-man for West Ham and he has looked incredibly isolated. Albian Ajeti, another summer recruit, hasn’t made any impact whatsoever and is yet to open his account for the Premier League side.
If West Ham are to turn things around, Pellegrini must work out a system that extracts the best out of Haller.
With this in mind, an interesting option for the Hammers could be Besiktas striker Burak Yilmaz.
Back in January 2016, the Evening Standard had claimed that West Ham had made a bid to sign Burak Yilmaz, who was then plying his trade for Galatasaray. However, no deal materialized and he left Galatasaray to join Chinese club Beijing Guoan in February 2016.
The Turkish striker, 34, currently with Besiktas, has five goals and two assists in nine Super Lig games this season. Even at the ripe age of 34, Yilmaz is still going strong. Thus, West Ham should take a punt on him when the transfer window reopens next month.
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In Yilmaz, West Ham would get an experienced striker, who has scored plenty of goals in Turkey. The centre-forward is a real pest for defenders and an energetic presence, who can be relied upon for goals on a temporary basis.
The former Turkey international would bring in much-needed aggression to the West Ham attack while potentially forming a formidable partnership with Haller upfront.
Verdict
One of the main reasons behind the Hammers’ slump in form this season has been their inability to score consistently. A veteran like Yilmaz would be a short-term solution to the Hammers’ goalscoring woes, with the rest of his squad looking completely out of sorts at the moment.
