West Ham United transfer target Simon Banza certainly won’t come cheap this summer.
The 27-year-old Braga hitman has been on fire this season, and with incoming West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui apparently prioritising the move for a striker this summer, he could well be the man for the job.
Michail Antonio needs to be replaced, that goes without saying.
The 34-year-old still has a role to play next season, but if we start the campaign with him as our main striker, we’ll be in real trouble.
Banza would be a real upgrade on Antonio, and at 27, he’ll be in the prime of his career for the next two or three years.
However, if the Hammers owners are serious about signing the Democratic Republic of Congo international, they’ll have to prove it by splashing the cash…
West Ham board must spend big if they wants Simon Banza
The main thing for West Ham will be to get the striker signing absolutely spot on this summer.
Whoever the new centre-forward is must be perfectly suited to Lopetegui’s system.
We’ve made so many poor striker signings in recent years, and that has to change this summer.
On paper, Banza is perfect for us, what with his blistering pace and incredible strength.
So how much will he set us back?
According to O Jogo (print edition May 15th), West Ham will now have to pay £34 million if we want to sign Simon Banza this summer.
That’s a whole £13 million more than it was claimed we needed to pay for his signature previously.
Whether we should be spending that much on a forward who is totally unproven in the Premier League is debatable. However, he certainly has the attributes we need.
Standing at 6ft 2in tall, Banza is an absolute unit, and thrives when mixing it up physically with opposing centre-backs.
The 27-year-old striker has bagged 23 goals and five assists in 40 games in all competitions for Braga this season (Transfermarkt).
£34 million may be a little steep for Simon Banza but on the whole, I don’t think it would represent a bad deal for West Ham.
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