The West Ham United striker curse lives on.
Gianluca Scamacca’s departure to Atalanta means that the Italian joins a long list of strikers including Sebastian Haller, Andy Carroll, Chicharito Hernandez, and Lucas Perez who failed to make a long-lasting impact for the Hammers.
Therefore, Irons boss David Moyes is back to square one, though a surprise name in Dominic Solanke has been tipped to finally buck the trend.
What’s the latest on Dominic Solanke to West Ham?
According to the Evening Standard’s Dom Smith, a West Ham representative is said to have contacted Bournemouth on 28th July to enquire about the attacker’s availability.
Read the latest West Ham transfer news HERE…
The Cherries maintained that he wasn’t for sale and were put off by his valuation, but with the new season on the horizon and deadline day creeping up, the 2023 Europa Conference League winners may be forced to alter their stance.
Would Dominic Solanke be a good signing for West Ham?
After stints at Chelsea and Liverpool, in which Solanke failed to forge a notable breakthrough, his career was seemingly heading into irrelevancy.
However, a move to Bournemouth has reignited his career, and he is one of their most productive assets. In the 2021/22 season, the 25-year-old netted 29 domestic goals and was the Championship’s second-highest scorer as his side achieved promotion back to the Premier League.
Prior to last season, many predicted that Bournemouth were destined for relegation. After a 9-0 loss to Liverpool and Scott Parker’s subsequent sacking, they appeared a chaotic mess, not possessing the quality or the experience required for top-flight football.
But, the appointment of Gary O’Neil galvanised the squad and the fanbase as the club finished in 15th position. The energetic forward particularly benefitted, making the fourth-most appearances (33), with the second-most goals (6) in the side, as per Transfermarkt.
In total, the £50k-per-week gem registered 13 goal contributions in the league and was a consistently effervescent, effective, and intricate focal point, who could also drop deeper to link offensive sequences.
This is portrayed by his rank within the best 16% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for progressive carries and successful take-ons per 90, as well as the highest 11% for assists per 90.
O’Neil has recognised such quality, as he once said:
"He's a dream as a centre-forward I think sometimes his work can go unnoticed, because it's difficult to score goals at this level.
“You ask him to press, he presses, you ask him to do stuff in possession, he does it. He literally does everything he can. He's probably the hardest-working centre-forward I've ever seen.”
Unlike Scamacca, Solanke is accustomed to English football, progressing through the ranks to becoming a top-flight regular. His pathway has taken a similar pathway to that of Jarrod Bowen, who has also ruthlessly excelled in the Championship.
After netting 22 times in the 2018/19 season, the winger was named in the EFL Team of the Season, and less than a year later he sealed a move to east London.
Bowen has risen from strength to strength in the English capital, being awarded the club’s Player’s Player of the Season in 2022 and netting the winner in their first European triumph since 1965.
The 5 foot 9 livewire’s dynamism, pace, end-product, and consistency mean he has cemented the right-wing position, and if afforded a technical and talented striking partner such as Solanke, it could be yet another exciting season for the Irons.
