Why West Ham should reignite interest in Wissam Ben Yedder
Back in 2019, a report from Football.London had claimed that West Ham were interested in signing French international striker Wissam Ben Yedder, who was plying his trade with Sevilla back then. However, the Hammers shifted their focus to other targets and eventually signed Sebastien Haller, leaving Ben Yedder to complete a return to his homeland with Monaco last summer.
Profile
Wissam Ben Yedder started his professional career with local club Alfortville in the French fourth-tier before earning a move to the top-flight with Toulouse in 2010. He made his Ligue 1 debut during the 2010-11 season and shot to prominence with a 15-goal haul in 2012-13.
The diminutive hitman went on to establish himself as a prolific goalscorer in the French top-flight, recording an impressive tally of 71 goals in 174 appearances for Toulouse across all competitions. A productive spell in his homeland paved the way for a move to Spain with Sevilla in the summer of 2016.
Ben Yedder enjoyed a prolific debut season at Sevilla, bagging 18 goals in all competitions and went from strength to strength over the following two campaigns, registering 22 and 30 goals respectively. The French forward finished his career in Spain with 70 goals in 138 appearances for Sevilla before returning to his homeland with Monaco in 2019.
The 30-year-old netted 18 goals in 26 league appearances last term before the Covid-19 pandemic brought a premature end to the French top-flight campaign. That tally saw him finish the 2019-20 season as the joint top-scorer in Ligue 1 alongside PSG’s Kylian Mbappe. Ben Yedder has continued to fire on all cylinders this season as well, scoring 6 goals in 10 Ligue 1 appearances so far.
Ben Yedder would add more firepower to the Hammers’ attack
Michail Antonio has been West Ham’s go-to man in front of goal since the second half of the previous campaign. The 30-year-old bagged 10 goals in just 24 PL appearances for the Hammers last term. He has hit the ground running once again this season, netting thrice in 6 games so far.
West Ham, though, have suffered due to a lack of quality alternatives up top to reduce the goalscoring burden on Antonio. Sebastien Haller has found himself down the pecking order this season after failing to make much of an impression following his big-money move from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer.
The Frenchman scored only 7 goals from 32 league outings for the Hammers last term and has managed to find the net only once in 7 league appearances so far this season. David Moyes has been reluctant to rely too heavily on him, with Haller starting only twice in the PL.
To put things into perspective, it is a no-brainer that West Ham need another out-and-out striker to complement the likes of Antonio, Said Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen up top. And reigniting interest in Wissam Ben Yedder in January would simply be a masterstroke, with the French international very much a goalscorer of proven pedigree at the highest level in Europe.
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Verdict
Wissam Ben Yedder hasn’t failed to hit the 15-goal mark in any of his last eight seasons, which clearly shows that he has thrived in the elite leagues in Europe over a sustained period of time.
The 30-year-old hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down and still has plenty to offer, thus making him more than worth a punt for West Ham.
