West Ham missed out on signing Sheraldo Becker on transfer deadline day and the Union Berlin forward could have been the next Marko Arnautovic at the London Stadium.
Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg claimed that Becker received interest from both Everton and West Ham on deadline day but he later reported that the 27-year-old wanted to stay with the Bundesliga side after their sensational start to the 2022/23 campaign.
Urs Fischer’s side sit just one point behind Bayern Munich in the German top flight, with Becker key to their surprise title challenge so far this season with journalist Josh Bunting full of praise for the former Ajax man earlier in the season.
He tweeted: “Sheraldo Becker in this team just fits perfectly, not just clinical but he’s also creative.”
The Suriname international boasts an impressive seven goals and four assists in just 18 Bundesliga appearances, with WhoScored awarding him a superb 6.97 rating for his performances.
Considering no player in David Moyes’ squad has contributed to more than four goals in the Premier League so far this season, it is clear that Becker could have been a quality addition in the final third.
The Hammers are one of the lowest scorers in the division, as both Gianluca Scamacca and Michail Antonio have failed to live up to expectations so far this term, while new signing Danny Ings is set for a spell on the sidelines after picking up an injury on his debut.
With Moyes’ side undoubtedly in a relegation battle this season, with their woes in front of goal a huge factor for their poor form, it seems clear that the Hammers are missing a goalscoring forward such as Arnautovic, with the Austrian hitting 22 goals and 12 assists in 65 appearances for the east London outfit.
Coincidentally, according to FBref, the current Bologna forward is the third-most similar player to Becker when compared to other strikers from Europe’s top leagues.
This season has seen the two forwards register close stats with regard to goals per shot (0.23 vs 0.24), progressive passes (19 vs 22) and dribbles attempted (18 vs 17), with their ability to not only score but create and beat opponents being on a similar level.
Being clearly alike. West Ham may well end up regretting not bringing Becker to the London Stadium on deadline day.