Why West Ham signing playmaker Amer Gojak would make little sense

According to claims from Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, West Ham have made an official approach for Bosnian international playmaker Amer Gojak, who currently plies his trade with Dinamo Zagreb in the Croatian top-flight. 

The same report understands that Bundesliga duo Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke are also in the race to sign the 22-year-old attacking midfielder next summer, while Premier League rivals Southampton have also been credited with an interest. 

Born in Sarajevo, Gojak rose through the youth ranks of Bosnian club Zeljeznicar and turned professional with Olimpic Sarajevo in 2014 before completing a move to Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb in 2015. 

The youngster hasn’t looked back since then and has carved out a reputation for himself as a top prospect in the Croatian top-flight, accumulating a total of 13 goals and 17 assists in 129 appearances across all competitions, including 3 goals and 3 assists in 16 outings thus far this term. 

Gojak represented Bosnia and Herzegovina at U-17, U-19 and U-21 levels before making his senior international debut against Austria in the UEFA Nations League last year in November. The 22-year-old currently has 3 goals in 8 senior appearances for his nation till date. 

That he has attracted interest from some top club in the German Bundesliga is indicative of his prodigious talent and vast potential. Gojak also impressed in the UEFA Europa League last season and the potential suitors will be keeping a close eye on his performances in this year’s UEFA Champions League. 

To put things into perspective, Amer Gojak looks like a talented player with serious potential at this stage of his career and he is not somebody that the Hammers should be looking at in January.

West Ham are already an attack-heavy unit and Manuel Pellegrini would be better served by trying to bring in recruits to plug the holes in other areas of his squad. 

West Ham splashed the cash to strike a deal for Spanish playmaker Pablo Fornals in the summer and, while the former Villarreal man has had somewhat of a slow start to life at the London Stadium, the Hammers need to hold their patience, given that he has the right blend of attributes, as well as the experience, to make a big impact in the coming months. 

Furthermore, the Hammers have some top-quality creative players like Felipe Anderson, Manuel Lanzini and Andriy Yarmolenko, while Robert Snodgrass and Michail Antonio are very useful back-ups for Pellegrini to call upon. 

Plus, they have someone like Nathan Holland, who is just waiting for a chance to get a look in from the manager, not to mention, Grady Diangana, who is currently working wonders for West Brom on loan in the Championship.

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Suffice to say, the Hammers should turn their attention towards bringing in a new holding midfielder to partner Declan Rice in the middle of the park, given that Mark Noble is already 32 and Carlos Sanchez is only there to make up the numbers.

To conclude, West Ham already have a plethora of attacking talents in their ranks and a move for Amer Gojak next summer would make little sense.