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‘Typical West Ham’, ‘That’s poor’ – Lots of Irons fans discuss limitations of potential signing

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We are regularly being linked with a move for AS Roma’s Edin Dzeko, but the Bosnia-Herzegovina captain has fans on the KUMB forum discussing his limitations.

Namely, the striker’s age is causing a stir, as the former Manchester City forward, who won the Premier League under Manuel Pellegrini, is 33-years-old and will at best have a few more seasons in him.

The veteran striker is also earning a reported €6million-a-year wage at Stadio Olimpico, and Leggo have suggested we will offer him £83,000-a-week to return to the Premier League, even though Corriere dello Sport, via Sport Witness, have noted he is willing to take a substantial pay cut.

Dzeko’s ability to serve as the lone striker has also been brought to the forum by some supporters, as we have seen forward’s struggle to lead our line over the years, and are currently enduring the issue with Javier Hernandez.

Add in the fee we are likely going to have to pay for Dzeko – with reports suggesting Roma will demand €15million (£12.9m), rising to €25m (£21.6m) – and this is what’s being shared on KUMB forum…

“I would shift all four strikers, as all have issues and are 30. Moneywise we will be lucky to get £10m for Hernandez, [Lucas] Perez 2m and around 25m for Arnie, so 37m in and a lot of wages saved on them and the carthorse [Andy] Carroll. Dzeko is too old and a two-season player at best. We need younger players who may have resale value if it doesn’t work out. [Aleksandar] Mitrovic scores goals in a poor Fulham side and should be around the 35-30m mark, he is 24-years-old. [Maxi] Gomez is not doing much in La Liga and if relegated will be around the 22m mark or 35m if they stay up, he is 22-years-old. If both fail we should get back 50% of transfers [back].” – Hammerman11 (April 17, 07:45)

“I’m actually fairly confident that we’ll have plenty of youth in the squad this time next season, both from purchases and from our own youth team. Holland, Coventry, and Johnson all have the potential to be in and around the first-team squad next season. For that reason, I’m not particularly worried about bringing in Dzeko, and I actually suspect he’d do a very good job for us. He’d offer experience, intelligence, height, a good goalscoring record, the ability to hold the ball up, and I suspect he’d be a positive influence on the players around him – especially the young ones.  I’ll judge our business at the end of the window… If we end up with Dzeko and five other 30+ players then fair enough, that’s poor. But if we end up with a decent blend of youth, players in their prime, and experience then I’m OK with that.” – Burnley Hammer (April 17, 08:10)

“Dzeko would be typical West Ham signing, particularly under these owners, a short term signing based on ‘name’ rather than looking at his attributes and how he’d fit in with our current players. While Dzeko has been an elite player, he has spent the last ten years playing for Man City and Roma. Quite simply the strikers at these clubs receive better service and are not expected or accustomed to battling for every ball like you have to at a mid-table Premier League club. Yes, putting the ball in the back of the net is the most difficult skill, but playing as a lone centre-forward in the Premier League, you need to be capable of so much more before you even get to that. As we’ve seen with Hernandez, if your lone centre-forward can’t get hold of the ball and bring others in to play, you can’t get a foothold in the game.” – MadHammer (April 17, 08:17)

“We need pace. Mitrovic and Dzeko too slow. For a team like us away from home, it’s a must” – Marky (April 17, 08:20)

“I must be the only person on here that wants us to sign Dzeko.” – S-H (April 17, 08:32)

“Pellegrini has talked about changing the mentality of the club which is why I think he’s after the likes of Dzeko, players who have played at the top level and won things.

“There’s little point in signing excellent 21-year-olds if after 12months they adopt the usual West Ham turn up for 1 in 3 games mentality.” – Sloop John B (April 17, 08:43)

“Dzeko is already on the wane, he is ready for Turkey, not West Ham, in a years time he will be beyond finished.” – FMgod (April 17, 08:46)

“He has one year left on his contract at Roma, he’s 33, so knows this is his one last chance at a decent contract. He’ll be looking for a two or three-year contract on whoever can offer him the best money.  And if he can do that in the relative comfort of London and the PL under a manager he’s played for before, then he’ll take it. But he won’t be here to better West Ham or drive our standards on just like Hernandez, [Patrick] Evra, [Samir] Nasri, [Davor] Suker, [Paulo] Futre and others of that ilk weren’t before.” – MadHammer (April 17, 09:15)

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