Barcelona lit the European stage up with their inventive system in which they play with no strikers, with Lionel Messi and the like making up for it. West Ham have played with no strikers this season, but rather than packing their midfield with inventive players it is purely because they have had a lack of strikers to choose from. Now, though, as the new year approaches, the Mirror are reporting that Sam Allardyce could make a move for Inter’s Diego Milito – the striker who fired Jose Mouirnho’s Serie A side to the Champions League trophy back in 2010.
The Hammers are currently placed in 17th in the Premier League table and above the drop zone purely on goal difference, but the fact that they have scored so little goals could see them go bottom this weekend if results go against them.
Milito has played just once this season in the league but scored twice, and although he has a decent overall goal tally for the San Siro outfit he is out of contract in the summer, so a deal may be done in January, apparently.
Milito is an opportunist. He’s often digging for gaps in the defence to exploit and he’s more often than not rewarded for his determination. There is always a danger when he has the ball in or around the box and as he is getting on a bit now – 34 – he could use the pace of Ravel Morrison to help his game.
Allardyce needs a striker and he could do much worse than Milito.