West Ham are weighing up a possible approach for Montpellier forward Gaetan Laborde, according to reports in England.
The 26-year-old has been in decent form this season, having scored six goals in 20 Ligue One appearances, and the Irons believe his style play will make it easier for him to adapt to the Premier League.
A bid of £16m could well be tabled before the January transfer window closes, but supporters on Twitter don’t think Laborde has the quality to play in the top-flight of English football:
Plays with a strike partner too. Swear we just go into a raffle and pick one
— West Ham Transfers (@westhamtransfer) January 18, 2021
He's awful.
— West Ham Fan Zone (@WHUFCFZ) January 18, 2021
We also bid like 30m for some Yousseff guy from Sevilla or something.
Absolutely dreadful.— ?????. (@whoreyghost) January 18, 2021
Whoever Jack Sullivan finds his dad from Football Manager…
— Ben Hick (@MrBenHick) January 18, 2021
Surely these bids are in an attempt to force Reims hand regarding Dia.
— Rob Waldon WHUFC #GSBOUT (@RobWaldon) January 18, 2021
Never a wise move selling your striker first and letting the world know you have a bit of money and r desperate !!
— gary jones (@garyjones68) January 18, 2021
guessing he’s not very good
— Lucas (@whuIucas) January 18, 2021
It is thought that Laborde’s ability to hold up the ball, as well as being able to play right across the front three, means he would fit pretty well into David Moyes’ style of play.
Whether he has the requisite quality to replace a player like Sebastien Haller, though, is another matter entirely. The Hammers appear to be linked with a new striker every day at the moment and it remains to be seen whether they will be able to snap up a frontman before deadline day.