Due to a worse-than-expected injury to Paquetá, West Ham had to change their transfer plans.
West Ham worries Paquetá’s two-month absence due to a calf injury.
They are desperately trying to sign offensive players, but money is limited.

Following more tests on Lucas Paquetá’s calf injury, West Ham changed their transfer plans and ramped up their pursuit of attacking additions, fearing the midfielder would be out for two months.

With Michail Antonio sidelined for up to six weeks due to a knee injury, Jarrod Bowen sidelined for at least two weeks due to an ankle injury, Paquetá unavailable, and Mohammed Kudus playing for Ghana in the Africa Cup of Nations, David Moyes is faced with a selection dilemma in the attacking line-up.

In case Nayef Aguerd left, West Ham was reportedly intending on having a quiet January and concentrating mostly on recruiting a center-back. However, Paquetá’s most recent development—he is currently visiting a specialist—will compel them to look for offensive additions. They have a long-standing interest in Hugo Ekitike, the forward for Paris Saint-Germain, and are following Ajax’s Steven Bergwijn and Sunderland’s Jack Clarke. Marcus Edwards of Sporting is an additional player to watch.

The most urgent problem, though, is that West Ham has been admitting to industry insiders that they are short on funds. Even though they sold Declan Rice to Arsenal for £105 million last summer, they are nearly there despite their recent heavy spending.

Another issue is whether West Ham, who are sixth in the Premier League and in the last 16 of the Europa League, can bring in a player capable of making an immediate impact. Sunderland will not want to sell Clarke, who is vital to their promotion hopes, and the 23-year-old could find making the step up from the Championship difficult. Bergwijn disappointed at Tottenham before joining Ajax. There will be pressure on Tim Steidten, West Ham’s technical director, to attack the toughest situation he has faced since joining the club last summer. There is not a lack of depth in attack. Instead the issue is that the players in reserve offer nowhere near the same quality as the favoured front three of Paquetá, Bowen and