West Ham make £30m bid to sign in-form striker as Potter eyes “major coup”

West Ham United have made a bid to sign an in-form striker for manager Graham Potter in a late January window move that would apparently be a “major coup”.

West Ham maintain late January search for new centre-forward

Injuries to Michail Antonio and Niclas Füllkrug have left Potter with Danny Ings as his sole senior striking option, prompting West Ham to enter the market among many Premier League clubs trying to sign a number nine before the 3rd February deadline.

West Ham were seriously attempting to land Brian Brobbey from Ajax, even agreeing personal terms on a £100,000-per-week deal (talkSPORT), but that move is now looking unlikely after financial complications.

West Ham then had a bid rejected for PSV Eindhoven star Ricardo Pepi, so the east Londoners haven’t exactly had much luck lately when it comes to acquiring their desired top targets.

Now, Brighton starlet Evan Ferguson is deemed a primary target for West Ham, and Potter’s side are optimistically attempting to get an agreement sealed ahead of stiff rumoured competition from Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Bournemouth, Everton and Tottenham (Jacob Steinberg).

Amid their chase for the Irishman, West Ham chiefs are also planning for the future, and have their eyes on highly rated young striker Eli Junior Kroupi.

The FC Lorient ace has bagged nine goals in all competitions for the Ligue 2 side as he helps push their promotion bid, with Kroupi’s form attracting attention from the London Stadium.

West Ham make £30 million bid to sign Eli Junior Kroupi

The France Under-21 international is fast gaining a serious reputation. Teammate Tiémoué Bakayoko even compared the teenager to Real Madrid superstar Kylian Mbappe, highlighting his quality at such a young age.

“He’s a phenomenon,” said Bakayoko.

“He reminds me a little of Kylian Mbappé in terms of the maturity of his game. He already has good stats for a youngster his age.”

Journalist Pete O’Rourke, writing via X, says West Ham have now made a £30m bid for Kroupi

, so this could be one to keep an eye on as the window draws to a close.

“Understand West Ham have made an offer worth up to £30m for highly-rated Lorient forward Eli Junior Kroupi,” said O’Rourke.

“Kroupi is a target for a number of Europe’s top clubs after impressing at Lorient. Landing Kroupi would be a major coup for West Ham and Graham Potter.”