Why West Ham should avoid signing Bournemouth’s Ryan Fraser

According to the Daily Mail, West Ham have expressed an interest in signing Bournemouth wide man Ryan Fraser.

Ryan Fraser, 25, isn’t having his best individual campaign at Bournemouth right now and has been directly involved in just four goals in 27 appearances.

The Scotland international’s contract at the Vitality Stadium expires in June, so there is a chance of him leaving in this transfer window, the report adds.

West Ham suffered a chastening 4-1 away defeat to Leicester City in the Premier League, which has left them just outside the bottom three on goal difference.

The Hammers are in desperate need of some new signings and manager David Moyes should attempt to bring in at least a couple of players to bolster his team’s chances of beating the drop.

The East Londoners have struggled scoring goals this season, managing only 27 in 23 games. Given the quality of the attacking players West Ham have in their squad, those numbers are simply not good enough.

Sebastien Haller arrived from Eintracht Frankfurt this past summer but has struggled to live up to the expectations of the London Stadium faithful, while the likes of Manuel Lanzini, Andriy Yarmolenko and Michail Antonio have endured injury-hit campaigns.

Pablo Fornals was snapped up from Villarreal before the start of the season, but he has made a slow start to his West Ham career. The Spaniard took a while to adjust to life in the Premier League, with the creative midfielder visibly struggling in his first few appearances in a West Ham shirt.

However, Fornals has really started to show his ability in recent weeks, with the change in management certainly helping him.

Yet, the Hammers continue to struggle in front of goal. To put things into perspective, Moyes must bring in a striker to support Haller up front, as well as increase West Ham’s productivity. With that in mind, the Scottish manager should avoid signing Ryan Fraser.

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Fraser did have a breakthrough season during the 2018-19 campaign, where he netted 8 goals and provided 15 assists, but he has massively struggled for form this term. Putting it simply, the winger won’t make much of a difference to this West Ham squad that desperately needs a world-class striker first.

Verdict

If the Hammers are to give themselves a chance of beating the drop, they must sign a striker as quickly as possible. They have a few flair players in Felipe Anderson, Manuel Lanzini and Pablo Fornals, thus it would be wise on their part to drop their interest in Fraser.