Premier League side West Ham United are reportedly interested in signing Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah.
According to Football Insider, West Ham United are keeping tabs on the situation of Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah, who has rejected multiple contract offers from the club. The player’s contract expires this summer, and the Hammers can thus sign the 22-year-old on a Bosman deal.
A Chelsea youth product, Nketiah was snapped up by the Arsenal academy in 2015 and has since been with the club. He was sent on a year-long loan to Leeds United in 2019, but the move was cut short as the Gunners recalled him in the 2020 January window. He scored four goals for the Whites across all competitions in six months.
The youngster couldn’t break into the Arsenal starting XI, making sporadic appearances for them. He failed to live up to the expectations, failing to score even five league goals during his time with the Arsenal first team. He has failed to find the back of the net in the Premier League this season in 12 appearances.
The 22-year-old is thus on the lookout for greener pastures, where improved game-time could help him recapture some of the form that he showed for Arsenal’s Under-23 side, for whom he netted 28 goals in 40 matches.
West Ham are eager to add attacking reinforcements this summer as they continue to challenge for European spots in the Premier League. They targeted several strikers during the winter window but failed to bring in any player. The east Londoners have now turned their attention towards Nketiah, who is yet to sign a pre-contract with any club.
The Hammers only have Michail Antonio as a recognised centre-forward and David Moyes wants to fix the issue this summer. Nketiah is an affordable option and one that the London-based outfit could seriously consider signing. Whether they manage to sign the 22-year-old from the Gunners remains to be seen.
Arsenal are themselves on the lookout for a striker with Alexandre Lacazette set to depart with Nketiah. The Gunners also released Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the January window and thus need a world-class forward in their ranks to continue their rebuild under Mikel Arteta.
