5 Forwards David Moyes And West Ham Should Be Targeting This Summer – Data Analysis

West Ham’s transfer window has been slow so far.

Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, who spent last season on loan at Fulham, has joined the Hammers on loan with an option to buy.

He is expected to compete with Łukasz Fabiański, who is likely entering his last year at the London Stadium.

But that’s it so far.

And for a squad that looked heavily depleted by the end of last season, and with the forthcoming extra commitment to the Europa League, it is no doubt concerning for West Ham fans that they haven’t added any more players yet. 

Realistically, the most important positions that need adding are centre-back, central-midfield, and centre-forward.

In the centre-back position, Nat Phillips and Kurt Zouma are both linked with a move.

In midfield, Alex Kral and Matheus Pereira are names that have also been heard a fair amount. 

Whether or not any of these players actually make the move to east London is another matter altogether.

As for the forward position, there is less clarity.

This is a position that West Ham notoriously failed to recruit well in under David Gold and David Sullivans ownership.

According to the Daily Mail, since January 2010, when Gold & Sullivan took over the club, they have spent a total of £223 million on 49 different forwards.

They will need to find another option once more.

Michail Antonio had an exceptional season in 2020/21. However, he has regular fitness issues, and West Ham were lacking in options up front when he was absent, with Jarrod Bowen or Jesse Lingard often filling the void.

This data analysis will examine the various statistics of players from around Europe to list five different options that would fit Moyes’ style of play and compete with Antonio for a starting berth.

It will then give a brief analysis of each of these prospects.

Antonio  Abraham  Wood

Tammy Abraham and Chris Wood are two of the names linked, among many others.

Both of these players would represent expensive transfers.

Given his outstanding season last year, Wood would likely cost around the £30 million mark, while Abraham will likely be north of that value.

However, they are players with plenty of experience in English football.

They also tell us a lot about the type of forward Moyes is in the market for.

We can delve into this criteria by looking at the data of Premier League forwards from last season, specifically highlighting the performances of Antonio, Abraham, and Wood.

First, examining the aerial duels regarding volume and win percentages is important.

West Ham doesn’t actually play a large number of long passes.

Their 40.76 long passes per 90 was only the 14th highest in the league.

Nevertheless, with their favoured 4-2-3-1, they need a centre-forward who can play by themselves and hold the ball up when isolated, too.

West Ham used counter-attacks to get in behind many teams last season.

In these moments, Antonio’s physicality and energy were vital, despite him often competing by himself against two centre-backs for a period of time.

Wide runners like Bowen, Lingard, and Benrahma would also frequently make runs off of Antonio, with the forward flicking the ball in behind for these wingers to run onto. 

Moyes clearly wants a physically imposing centre-forward who can hold their own aerially. 

Looking at the graph below, Chris Wood was involved in the most aerial duels in the league for a centre-forward, with 10.84 per 90, aside from ex-West Ham forward Sebastien Haller, Sheffield Uniteds Oli McBurnie, and Crystal Palaces Christian Benteke.

His win percentage of 30.16% is slightly below the league average; however, questions could well be raised regarding the quality of many of these aerial passes played forward.

Abraham gets involved in far fewer aerial duels, only 5.19 per 90, but wins a highly impressive 45.16% of these.

As for Antonio, he sits somewhere in between the duo mentioned above, with a win percentage of 35.81% on 7.02 aerial duels per 90.

Aside from aerial duels, it’s important for us to ascertain the overall productivity of these players in front of goal.

To do this, we can look at four metrics: touches in the box per 90, shots per 90, xG per 90, and goals per 90. 

With touches in the box pe