Why West Ham should reignite interest in Serhou Guirassy in January
Back in May, a report from Get French Football News (h/t Daily Star) claimed that West Ham had been credited with an interest in French striker Serhou Guirassy, who was then plying his trade with Amiens in Ligue 1.
London rivals Arsenal, Tottenham, and Chelsea were also mentioned among the other potential suitors for the 24-year-old (h/t Daily Star), but he eventually ended all the speculation over his future by completing a move to fellow Ligue 1 outfit Stade Rennes before the summer deadline.
Profile
A youth exponent of Stade Lavallois, Serhou Guirassy shot to prominence with his boyhood club in Ligue 2 before completing a move to top-flight outfit Lille. However, he only made a handful of appearances in Ligue 1 and enjoyed a productive loan spell with Auxerre in the second-tier before completing a move to German Bundesliga club FC Koln.
Guirassy’s spell in Germany was blighted by injuries to a large extent, limiting his returns to just 9 goals in 45 appearances across all competitions. The 24-year-old was loaned out to Amiens in January 2019 and joined the French outfit permanently last summer after helping them survive in the top-flight.
The former France U-20 international bagged 9 goals in 24 outings across all competitions last season but it wasn’t enough to save Amiens from going down to Ligue 2. Guirassy completed a move to Rennes and has enjoyed a stunning start to life at this new club, scoring thrice in 5 league appearances so far.
Guirassy would be a good addition to West Ham’s attack
West Ham endured a frustrating summer window as David Moyes’ side failed to get deals over the line for most of their rumoured targets. The arrival of Vladimir Coufal and Craig Dawson before the deadline somewhat eased their defensive issues but the Hammers still have some pressing concerns at the other end of the pitch.
Club-record signing Sebastien Haller has slipped down the pecking order this term after scoring just 7 times in 32 PL outings last term. The Frenchman has only played cameos off the bench in West Ham’s league fixtures so far, with Moyes preferring the likes of Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen up top.
Antonio has hit the ground running with 2 goals in 4 games this season after bagging 10 goals last term but West Ham ideally need another striker to compete for places. Albian Ajeti also departed the club to join Celtic this summer, leaving the Hammers somewhat light in their attacking options.
To that end, West Ham should make a renewed attempt to lure Serhou Guirassy to East London when the transfer window reopens in January. The 24-year-old has shown strong signs of promise in the French top-flight and seems to have the right blend of physicality and goalscoring prowess to make the step up to English football.
As evident from his heat map in Ligue from the 2019-20 campaign, Guirassy tends to drop deep and uses his powerful 6ft 2in frame to function as a focal point of the attack. Strong concentration in the wide and central areas of the park also reflects the 24-year-old’s high work rate and overall contribution to the build-up play.
Haller himself possesses similar qualities but given that Moyes hasn’t looked too inclined to utilise the Frenchman, the Hammers might as well look to bring in someone like Guirassy to bolster their striking ranks.
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Verdict
Suffice to say, a potential deal for Serhou Guirassy in January would hand a significant boost to West Ham’s firepower in the final third. The 24-year-old has shown a lot of improvement over the past 12 months and with his best years still ahead of him, the Hammers shouldn’t hesitate to go back in the market for his services.
