West Ham United are holding an interest in Christian Kouame, who impressed during his loan spell with Anderlecht last season.
According to Corriere Dello Sport (h/t Sport Witness), Fiorentina forward Christian Kouame is a potential target for West Ham United. David Moyes is keen on the Ivorian, who had a tremendous season with Anderlecht on loan, where he was involved in 23 goals.
West Ham United seem to have stumbled upon another striker target as the media continues to link the London side with new options. So far, there have been many forwards mentioned as potential arrivals, but David Moyes is yet to be convinced of the correct option so far.
Moyes has kept watch on several options from England, with Emmanuel Dennis one of the players he likes. However, the Watford striker will likely come at a significant price, despite the club’s relegation from the Premier League, which is not ideal for the Hammers considering they are expected to have a limited transfer budget.
They have also kept tabs on Armando Broja’s situation, but Chelsea are unlikely to sell the young striker, let alone to a London rival. The situation has forced West Ham to look at other markets, especially France and Italy, where some emerging players could favour Moyes’ style.
It goes without saying that West Ham United need to bring in a competitor for Michail Antonio, who was burdened with leading the line with no cover last season. With so many games to play in the campaign, the Jamaican found it difficult at times to pull off the task and ended up enduring an underwhelming season by his standards.
Christian Kouame is the latest name to emerge on West Ham’s list, as Fiorentina could accept a reasonable offer for the Ivorian. After joining the Italians permanently in the summer of 2020, the striker featured in 33 league games but underwhelmed by scoring just a single goal.
With Dusan Vlahovic firing the goals for Fiorentina back then, the club allowed Kouame to leave on loan and join Anderlecht last year. With the Belgian giants, the Ivorian had a terrific season, in which he finished with 23 goal contributions, including 13 strikes and ten assists across all competitions.
West Ham could consider submitting a modest offer for the Ivory Coast striker, although looking at his displays from last season, Fiorentina could be inclined to ask for more. They could potentially consider re-integrating him into their side, but with two years left on his contract, selling the forward would make more sense for the Serie A side.
West Ham could explore signing him as a backup striker and afford him one season as Antonio’s understudy. Moyes will keep his options open in the window, although Kouame seems like an ideal financial choice.
