From the moment Mohammed Kudus arrived at West Ham last summer, it was known that David Moyes’s side would have to do without the Ghana international during this month’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Whether anyone could have predicted he would leave quite such a big gap, however, is another question.
While the previous summer’s additions, including the likes of Lucas Paqueta, took the best part of a full season to settle, Kudus has hit the ground running in east London, briefly eased into the starting XI by Moyes and now set to depart for the Ivory Coast having scored nine times across all competitions.
While the 23-year-old has been delayed joining up with the Ghana squad because of a minor hamstring injury, should the Black Stars go all the way to the AFCON final, by the time he returns he may have missed as many as six club matches.
Here are three ways the Hammers can try to fill the void…
Second-string step up
With Paqueta also sidelined, by injury, Moyes handed starts out wide to Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals for last night’s drab goalless draw with Brighton in the Premier League.
Neither winger enhanced what were not exactly strong claims to start with, given they are without a competitive goal between them all season, despite a decent amount of opportunity in the cup competitions.
However, at least one, if not both, will likely get another chance when Bristol City visit in the FA Cup this weekend and Moyes will hope desperately that there are signs of life. Maxwel Cornet could also feature in that contest and is another option out wide, albeit one Moyes has seldom trusted to feature.
Bowen returns to the wing
Jarrod Bowen had spent the vast majority of his career playing on the right wing until being converted to centre-forward by Moyes this season.
The Englishman is in sensational form, with 11 league goals to his name already this term and Moyes is not concerned about the possibility that moving him back wide would diminish his goal threat. In fact, several of his most recent strikes have come after in-game switches of that kind anyway.
The issue, however, is that Moyes is short on options at centre-forward should Bowen return to his wide berth. Michail Antonio is still not back in full training after the knee injury suffered on international duty in November, while Danny Ings appears to have slipped behind youngster Divin Mubama in the pecking order.
A shape-shift
Assuming Moyes does not dip into the transfer market to bolster his wide options before Kudus’s return, one alternative could be to shift to a narrower 4-4-2 formation, which the Hammers have occasionally used in games against sides expected to dominate possession.
Paqueta, assuming his own knee injury proves minor, would be free to roam in midfield ahead of the regular trio of Edson Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse and Tomas Soucek, with in-form full-backs Emerson and Vladimir Coufal relied upon to provide width.
That would leave Bowen free to play up-front alongside either Ings or Mubama, both of whom have struggled to influence games as a sole central striker.
