Jordan Hugill
On 31 January 2018, Jordan Hugill completed a deadline day move to Premier League club West Ham in a reported £10million deal, becoming manager David Moyes’ second signing at the London Stadium.
Expectations were high, with Hammers fans hoping to have found their new star striker ready to lead the club to glory. No such thing happened though. The 26-year-old made only 3 appearances and stayed on the pitch for a total of 22 minutes.
Now he seems set for a return to the Championship, with several clubs interested in his services. Among them are Preston, QPR and Sheffield Wednesday.
Preston seems like the natural choice for the attacker. He spent four seasons at Deepdale, making 114 appearances and scoring 30 goals along the way. He actually left North End in order to join West Ham.
The Lilywhites have got a decent strike force without him anyway, with Sean Maguire, Louis Moult, Callum Robinson and Tom Barkhuizen in the team.
None of them is what you’d call a top striker though and Hugill’s experience can be vital for them. A permanent transfer would be difficult to conclude but a loan move sounds good for all parties involved.
Matt Smith and Connor Washington didn’t have the best of seasons in 2017/18. They scored a combined 17 goals in the Championship, which is nowhere near the requirement for a team willing to be in the mix for the top-6. The R’s also have the young Paul Smyth and Idrissa Sylla at their disposal but it’s clear they need more competition up front.
Hugill netted 8 goals for Preston in the first half of last season before making the move to the London Stadium. His best return in a single campaign is 12 goals. The Middlesbrough native has solid Championship experience and can help QPR after their 16th-place finish last term.
Of all teams linked with a move for Hugill, Sheffield Wednesday seems like the least likely destination for the player. There’s one simple reason to that and it’s the fact that the Owls have loads of options in the attack.
Sam Winnall, Fernando Forestieri, Gary Hooper, Steven Fletcher, Jordan Rhodes, Atdhe Nuhiu and Lucas Joao are all there. If one of them is sold, then interest in Hugill would be more justified.
In the end, we’re talking about a footballer who would be a decent signing for most second-tier sides. His reputation has suffered after the failed transfer at West Ham and he’ll be hungry to prove critics wrong.
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