West Ham United need to sign a striker to replace Marko Arnautović, who moved to China recently. The Hammers only have Javier Hernandez as their first-team striker, and will need to sign at least another forward before the start of the 2019-20 Premier League season.
The London club have been linked with quite a few strikers – from Salomon Rondon to Gonzalo Higuain to Moussa Marega, to name a few.
Former West Ham United manager Allardyce said that the former Chelsea and current Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa would be a great fit at West Ham.
While speaking to talkSPORT, Allardyce said that he would have swapped Costa for Arnautović and that Costa would “thrive being a big fish in a smaller pond as well”.
“I think it would be a perfect fit. I’d love to see him back in the Premier League and would love to see him at West Ham,” Allardyce said.
Costa is currently with Spanish side Atletico Madrid and is serving an 8-match ban for verbally abusing a referee.
The Spanish international moved back to Atletico in 2018, but will once again be the second choice after Atletico signed Alvaro Morata on a permanent deal. Costa has scored just 11 times since moving to Atletico and will most likely leave the club ahead of the 2019-20 season.
Should West Ham make a move for Diego Costa?
Diego Costa is a controversial figure and is often the pantomime villain hated by opposition fans but loved by his own fans. The Spanish striker helped Chelsea win two Premier League titles and ended his Premier League stint with 52 goals from 89 games – an impressive stat.
West Ham would be a great place for Costa to move to, as the vocal fanbase would welcome him with open arms while he is sure to score plenty of goals.
The Hammers have a few exciting attacking players with the likes of Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko attacking down the wings, while new signing Pablo Fornals will also add some much-needed quality in the attacking third.
These players combined with Costa could help the Hammers compete for the last few spots in the Europa League.
The Hammers should certainly make a move for Costa, who has two years left on his current contract at Atletico and would be allowed to leave if a good bid comes in. His experience in the Premier League coupled with his goalscoring exploits makes his signing a no-brainer.
