The £40m striker West Ham must beat Arsenal and Spurs to for major boost to European hopes

Prepare yourself, for I am about to deliver a revelation that may well shake you to your very core. Widen your stance, clench your buttocks, gird your loins; I’m going to strap you into the opinion column equivalent of the Ludovico Technique from A Clockwork Orange. Ready? Okay, here goes, folks... West Ham need a striker.

I know, I know, it’s a lot to take in. Let me give you a moment to pick your jaws up off the floor, gather your thoughts. Call your loved ones, perhaps. Wait, what do you mean you already knew? Not just you? You’re telling me that everybody is absolutely, entirely, utterly aware of this, from the most casual of armchair observers to Davey Moyes and his Claret boys themselves? Well then, I’m sorry for wasting your time.

Facetiousness aside, something has got to give in east London. West Ham have started the campaign with just two proper, senior centre forwards on their books; one of whom they were seemingly quite happy to flog to the Saudi Pro League just a few short months ago, and the other of which plays with all the command and dulled anonymity of a witness protection programme secret identity. Between them this season, Michail Antonio and Danny Ings have scored just two goals. Ings, for his part, has scored neither of them.

It is quite unsurprising, therefore, that the Hammers are being linked with a January swoop for Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez. According to the Mirror, the Irons are one of several clubs keeping tabs on the Mexican, who has hit 15 goals in just 11 outings across all competitions so far this season. The 22-year-old is also said to be attracting attention from the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham, and Newcastle United in the Premier League alone, plus a smattering of top continental clubs like Inter Milan, AC Milan, Juventus, Napoli, Lazio, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid. He is, in short, a popular boy.

West Ham, to their credit, saw his potential before the rest of the chasing pack. The Hammers were actually in talks with Gimenez back in August, and were hopeful that he could be a replacement for the departed Gianluca Scamacca. Instead, the striker penned a fresh deal in the Netherlands, and has subsequently seen his prospective price tag balloon to upwards of £40 million. That, of course, is a lot of money, but then again, few players in world football are proving to be as lethally efficient, or efficiently lethal, as the Mexican this season.

According to stats aggregator Whoscored, only three players have averaged a higher average match rating in the Eredivisie this term, and nobody in the Dutch top flight has registered more shots per 90 minutes. Gimenez is consistently finding himself in goalscoring positions, and he is consistently making good on them too. As per Wyscout, his shot accuract sits at a healthy 48.9%, but more impressive still is the fact that he is averaging 1.16 goals per game from an xG of 0.68. Factor in 4.87 touches per 90 minutes in the opposition box and it is evident that Gimenez is a busy, effective centre forward - something that the Hammers are sorely lacking.

Whether Feyenoord, themselves in receipt of lofty ambitions both domestically and in continental competition, would be willing to part company with their most prized asset - especially partway through a campaign - remains to be seen, of course, and even if they do, West Ham will have to fend off stiff, stiff competition for Gimenez’s signature. But if the Irons are serious about establishing themselves as genuine European qualification contenders in the coming weeks and months, this is exactly the kind of acquisition they need to be making.