West Ham: Wages, not transfer fees, will decide Serhou Guirassy's next club

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·15 December 2023

West Ham: Wages, not transfer fees, will decide Serhou Guirassy's next club

Highlights

West Ham United are one of several Premier League clubs interested in signing VfB Stuttgart striker Serhou Guirassy during the 2024 winter transfer window at the London Stadium.
David Moyes hopes to bolster his centre-forward options in his Irons squad, with Michail Antonio currently on the sidelines with a knee injury.
The Hammers must also consider the futures of some fringe players at the club, including defender Thilo Kehrer.

West Ham United target Serhou Guirassy will likely pick his next destination based on wages offered, as transfer insider Dean Jones evaluates the chances of the striker’s acquisition at the London Stadium during the 2024 winter window.

David Moyes’ Irons squad are hunting for a centre-forward in the January market after enduring a mixed start to the 2023/24 Premier League campaign.

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The Hammers have secured their place in the last-16 of the Europa League, having topped their group and bypassing the need for a play-off clash with a Champions League dropout. West Ham hope to replicate the continental success they experienced during the 2022/23 campaign following their Europa Conference League triumph in Prague.

West Ham’s centre-forward struggles

While Moyes will be happy with the attacking talent in his West Ham squad, the Scot will be concerned about the need for an out-and-out goalscoring centre-forward. Michail Antonio has generally been the go-to option in the No.9 role at the London Stadium after the east London outfit sold Gianluca Scamacca to Atalanta during the 2023 summer transfer window.

However, the Jamaica international has been absent from the West Ham squad since November, having suffered medial knee ligament damage in the Reggae Boyz’s clash with Canada. The Hammers had initially been concerned that the 33-year-old would be unavailable until well into 2024, but medical assessments by the club’s staff signified it was only a strain.

Antonio had been struggling for form before suffering his injury, having been displaced in the centre-forward role by Jarrod Bowen. The 27-year-old has been productive for Moyes’ side during the 2023/24 campaign, scoring nine goals and registering one assist in 15 appearances, before hosting Wolverhampton Wanderers on 17th December. However, Bowen is more comfortable playing as a right-winger, allowing him to cut inside onto his preferred left foot in front of goal.

Therefore, it’s unsurprising that TEAMtalk has claimed that West Ham are interested in signing VfB Stuttgart striker Guirassy, who is currently second to Harry Kane in the Bundesliga’s top goalscorer charts. In November, Jones told GIVEMESPORT that an Irons move for the forward is possible, who reportedly has a release clause worth just €17.5m (£15m). Guirassy’s streak of goalscoring has recently been described as “outrageous” by The Athletic’s Sebastian Stafford-Bloor.

Dean Jones on Serhou Guirassy to West Ham

Jones has hinted that Guirassy’s next destination could be dictated by who offers the best financial package with “half the Premier League” interested in his services. The transfer insider believes West Ham would have a “decent chance” of signing the centre-forward in January. Jones told GIVEMESPORT:

“The race to sign Guirassy is getting quite interesting because half the Premier League are now considering whether they should be signing him in January, but I’m learning that this will probably come down to big pay offers. “The release clause makes an actual transfer relatively easy to get going, but because of that, the player himself will probably be looking for a handsome package that lands in his account, and as such, I think it’ll come down to who can put the best terms on the table. “West Ham are definitely on the lookout for a striker, and they would probably have a decent chance of getting him if they are willing to push the boat out and offer him the sort of deal they might not usually put out there for a player of this age that has had this career path. “But he’s on fire, a European boot contender, and goals are hard to find these days at the top level.”

Despite being backed to have a decent chance to sign Guirassy by Jones, West Ham’s chances of signing the striker have taken a blow, with Bild reporting that Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund are interested in his services. The centre-forward has already acclimatised to Germany and may feel best placed to succeed by remaining in the league during the 2024 winter transfer window.

Meanwhile, journalist Paul Brown has recently told GIVEMESPORT (13th December) that Thilo Kehrer is unlikely to leave the London Stadium in January. The German hasn’t significantly impacted Moyes’ side during the 2023/24 campaign. Still, the Irons are unlikely to weaken their squad in the new year, having qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League.

After Wolves visit east London on 17th December, West Ham head north to take on Liverpool in a Carabao Cup quarter-final on the 20th. The Hammers then host Manchester United on 23rd December before closing out 2023 with a capital derby with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on the 28th.