West Ham: Adam Armstong could be Michail Antoino 2.0 | OneFootball

West Ham United could find themselves another Michail Antonio this summer amid interest in one of the Championship’s hottest prospects…

What’s the word?

According to the Lancashire Telegraph, the Hammers are at the front of the queue to secure Blackburn Rovers talisman Adam Armstrong but they face competition from relegated Fulham as well as Premier League rivals Newcastle United, Norwich City and Southampton.

Despite only having one year to run on his current contract, the Championship outfit are remaining firm over their £20m valuation of the striker, whilst they are pushing to tie him down to fresh terms that would see him take a 40% sell-on clause.

The 24-year-old is currently on holiday, with his representatives holding talks with Rovers over his future.

Shades of Antonio

The Irons have had mixed success when it comes to recruiting from the lower divisions, ranging from absolute flops like Jordan Hugill to finding club legends like Michail Antonio.

A move for Armstrong would certainly edge towards the latter rather than the former.

As per Transfermarkt, the diminutive 5 foot 8 dynamo found the net a whopping 29 times in all competitions for Blackburn during the 2020/21 campaign, adding to his 17-goal tally a season earlier.

He clearly has a knack for scoring goals and has proven that in every step up through the leagues, having enjoyed successful loan spells at Coventry and Barnsley whilst on the books at the Magpies.

During his time at the Ricoh Arena, he earned perhaps the most glowing endorsement he’ll ever receive from Hammers legend and then-teammate Joe Cole.

“Armstrong reminds me of Aguero in a way, he’s of the build and he’s hungry for goals,” he claimed. “In a lovely way, he’s selfish for goals and has the ingredients to be a top player and go on to score many more goals.”

The 24-year-old, valued at £14.4m by Transfermarkt, has also been dubbed “explosive” and “devastating” by Tony Mowbray during an interview with The Athletic back in January.

West Ham signed Antonio after a very lucrative season at Nottingham Forest, where he delivered 26 goal contributions in 46 appearances, via WhoScored, so there would certainly be further similarities if David Moyes took a punt on Armstrong.

£20m is a lot cheaper than some of the fees mooted around their other targets, namely the £40m price tag on Tammy Abraham’s head, so GSB should look to sanction a move for the Blackburn sensation this summer.

AND in other news, West Ham suffer major Jesse Lingard setback…