West Ham are desperately seeking January transfer reinforcements as David Moyes faces a mounting injury crisis in attack.
While there is optimism that Jarrod Bowen’s ankle problem is not as serious as first feared, Lucas Paqueta is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines - possibly as long as two months - at a time when striker Michail Antonio is already out injured and Mohammed Kudus is away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Hammers had been hoping to sell players this month before strengthening their attack as they look to keep up their push for the European places, with the likes of Said Benrahma, Danny Ings and Pablo Fornals all up for sale.
With their entire first-choice attack currently out, however, the Hammers hierarchy are now urgently considering their options, with firm interest in Sunderland winger Jack Clarke and Ajax’s Steven Bergwijn.
Paqueta and Bowen were both injured during Sunday’s FA Cup third-round draw with Bristol City, which leaves David Moyes’s side facing a trip to Ashton Gate for a replay next week.
Bowen had to be helped off the pitch after suffering an ankle injury in the dying moments of the game and will not be available for that tie but there is hope that he may only miss one Premier League match, the visit to Sheffield United the following weekend.
Paqueta’s calf injury is of greater concern, though. The Brazilian limped off during the win over Arsenal late last month and lasted barely ten minutes on his return to the side against the Robins before suffering a reoccurrence. He is due to see a specialist, but West Ham fear he may be absent for as long as eight to ten weeks.
Kudus, who is himself nursing a hamstring problem that saw him sit out Ghana’s AFCON warm-up against Namibia on Monday, may not return until mid-February should the Black Stars go deep into the tournament, while Antonio has not featured since suffering a knee injury in November and suffered a setback in training last week that will rule him out for at least another month.
Centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos also went off injured during the Bristol City game after an awkward landing, but has not suffered any lasting damage and is expected to be fit for next week’s replay.
Former Tottenham man Bergwijn has emerged as a possible solution this month, while Clarke is a long-term target, though it will take a substantial offer to convince Sunderland to sell their top-scorer midseason as they target a Championship play-off place.
Plans to send highly-rated academy forward Callum Marshall out on loan are now also set to be put on hold, despite the Under-21s exiting the EFL Trophy at Wycombe last night.
