Journalist Pete O'Rourke has an update on West Ham United's striker search with some news on Bournemouth forward Dominic Solanke.
Who will West Ham sign?
After weeks of little business being done, possibly due to the drawn-out sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal, West Ham appear to finally be making ground on the transfer front.
Mexico international Edson Alvarez was confirmed as new West Ham signing earlier this week, but the former Ajax star certainly won't be the last, as reports suggest they're also close to signing Southampton's James Ward-Prowse.
Meanwhile, David Moyes is waiting for his side to agree terms with Man United defender Harry Maguire, coming after both the Irons and United agreed on a fee for the 30-year-old.
It could be a very busy last few weeks of the window for West Ham, transfer chief Tim Steidten and sporting director Mark Noble, not to mention David Sullivan.
Gianluca Scamacca, after just one season at the club, has also joined Atalanta and Moyes must now replace the Italian marksman with another striker.
Read the latest West Ham transfer news HERE…
West Ham have been linked with a host of new forwards, including Arsenal's Folarin Balogun, and they will need to get this signing spot on if they're not to have a relegation battle repeat of last season.
Solanke, who starred for Bournemouth over 2022/2023, is rumoured to be on their radar as a "top target".
That is according to O'Rourke, who wrote a column for Football Insider on West Ham's transfer business this week.
He claims Solanke is among their priority names to potentially fill the void left by Scamacca, but there is a problem, as West Ham are currently unlikely to persuade Bournemouth into a deal as things stand.
There is little else on whether that might change, but signing a striker is one of both Steidten and Moyes' top priorities with the new campaign set to get underway this weekend.
Ironically, the Hammers travel to Bournemouth for their opening game tomorrow, with kick off at 3pm.
How good is Dominic Solanke?
The 25-year-old registered a brilliant 13 goal contributions in the top flight last season, standing out as one of the Cherries' best-performing players by average match rating according to WhoScored.
Solanke bagged six goals and seven assists and contributed very well as Bournemouth secured survival with relative ease, having also attempted more shots at goal per 90 than any of his teammates (WhoScored).
O'Neil, speaking to the media last term, heaped praise on the former Liverpool man as an "absolutely massive" player for Bournemouth.
“It’s hard for Dom," said O'Neill when reflecting on the task of Solanke leading Bournemouth's attack.
“I feel for him at times, but that’s the nature of the league. We’re not going to dominate all of games all the time.
“Dom works his socks off for me and you can see he comes off and we’ve not created loads of chances for him and he’s put in a load of work. People that maybe don’t know, could underestimate how big Dom is for this group.
“Absolutely massive. I couldn’t ask for a better number nine to go and face the challenges that we’re faced with.”
