Why West Ham should take a gamble on Lukasz Teodorczyk

Back in 2017, a report from the Daily Mirror had claimed that West Ham were interested in Lukasz Teodorczyk, who was then playing for Belgian club Anderlecht.

Lukasz Teodorczyk, 28, joined Udinese last summer after two fantastic seasons with Anderlecht that saw him score 45 goals in 93 appearances across all competitions. However, a move to Udinese hasn’t worked out well for the Polish striker, who spent the majority of last season on the sidelines with an inguinal Hernia problem.

The 28-year-old may not have set the world alight in Serie A but he remains a quality striker and someone whom West Ham can think of signing to bolster their striking options.

West Ham let go of the likes of Andy Carroll, Marko Arnautovic, Javier Hernandez and Lucas Perez during the summer transfer window. Manuel Pellegrini only managed to bring in Sebastien Haller and Albian Ajeti as options up front.

The Hammers have been reliant on Haller for goals and while the Frenchman hasn’t taken much time to adapt to the Premier League, one cannot hide the fact that he needs real competition. Ajeti as a back-up option is simply not enough for a team whose ambitions lie in breaking into the top six.

Well, Lukasz Teodorczyk could be a good option for West Ham. Standing at 6ft 2in, the Polish international is a strong, powerful and intimidating presence which makes him very difficult to knock off the ball. He is excellent in holding up the ball, protecting it and bringing his teammates into the game.

The 28-year-old isn’t the quickest of centre-forwards but he makes it up with his innate understanding of the game and lethal finishing in the box.

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The former Dinamo Kyiv man loves to play off the shoulder of the last defender, whilst being a clinical finisher when presented with a goalscoring opportunity.

He has already demonstrated that he is capable of scoring goals of all kinds and Manuel Pellegrini may hope that he would provide some much-needed competition to his current strikers.

Verdict

Teodorczyk’s stock has tumbled miserably over the last 12 months or so, but at 28 he could come good for the Hammers. The move to Udinese has clearly not worked out for him and perhaps he needs a move away from Serie A to enjoy the prime years of his career.

If the big Pole can keep his injury problems aside, he could turn out to be a smart addition for Pellegrini’s side.