West Ham were interested in £3m-rated PL star – Should Moyes have signed him to ease attacking woes

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Rohan Sengupta

Why West Ham missed a trick by failing to sign Olivier Giroud in January

According to Football Insider (h/t The Express), West Ham were interested in a January deadline day swoop for Olivier Giroud, who was valued at £3million by Chelsea. However, no deal materialised and the striker stayed put at Chelsea. In fact, the Hammers actually signed Jarrod Bowen from Hull City on deadline day. (h/t BBC)

Olivier Giroud, 33, has seen limited game time at Chelsea this season. He has made only 7 Premier League appearances under Frank Lampard, with the centre-forward getting a start against Tottenham earlier in the day.

Chelsea's Olivier Giroud looks on in a game. (Getty Images)
Chelsea’s Olivier Giroud looks on in a game. (Getty Images)

Meanwhile, West Ham are in real threat of getting relegated. Things are looking bleak with every passing week for the Hammers and Moyes will need to start getting positive results if his team are to avoid getting relegated.

The East London outfit have struggled for goals despite signing Sebastien Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer. Haller has managed just six goals in 24 games, failing to live up to the high expectations of the London Stadium faithful. Truth to be told, the Frenchman is yet to fully adapt to the demands of Premier League football.

Apart from Haller, the likes of Albian Ajeti, Michail Antonio and Felipe Anderson have contributed to only seven goals. Due to a lack of natural goalscorers, West Ham have only managed to score 30 goals in 26 league games.

To solve the club’s goalscoring woes, Moyes did manage to bring in Jarrod Bowen last month. Bowen enjoyed a solid first-half of the season with Hull City, scoring 16 goals. In all, he scored 54 goals in 131 appearances in all competitions for the Tigers.

Olivier Giroud celebrates after scoring for France. (Getty Images)
Olivier Giroud celebrates after scoring for France. (Getty Images)

However, Bowen has little experience of Premier League football, so it remains to be seen whether or not he manages to replicate his Championship exploits in the top-flight. Keeping that in mind, Moyes missed a trick by not signing Giroud last month.

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Giroud has massive Premier League experience, having scored 79 goals in 228 top-flight appearances. That’s a testament to his goalscoring pedigree and the Frenchman certainly could’ve helped West Ham in the attack.

Verdict

Thus, Moyes should’ve signed Giroud, whose experience at the highest level and goalscoring ability would have improved West Ham’s productivity in front of the goal.