Could Shane Long be on the move again?
Having moved twice in 2014, from West Brom to Hull and then to Southampton, the Tipperary native has looked settled on the South Coast – even if this more stop-start season has not gone as well as last, when he scored 13 goals in all competitions.
Will we see much movement next month? #COYBIG https://t.co/P2CFNtX8nl
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) December 31, 2016
He returned to scoring ways on New Year’s Eve against former club West Brom but, according to the Daily Telegraph, he was already on the radar of West Ham United, who are actively searching for another striker.
With record signing Andre Ayew bound for Gabon and the African Cup of Nations, plus Diafra Sakho injured, Slaven Bilic needs some support for Andy Carroll.
After a dodgy run, West Ham arrested their slide with three straight league wins before the New Year’s Eve defeat to Leicester City and the Hammers know that to maintain that upward trajectory it would be foolish to rely on the notoriously injury-prone Carroll for an entire month.
With money to spend and room in the squad folllowing the premature end to Simone Zaza and Jonathan Calleri’s loan spells, West Ham are pushing hard to sign old boy Jermain Defoe from Sunderland.
Probably accepting that David Moyes would be mad to allow his main source of goals to leave when his club are luxuriating in the relegation zone, even with a generous fee of £6million for a 34-year-old, the Hammers are looking elsewhere.
The Telegraph report that Long is not the only Irish-qualified striker on the Hammers’ radar – should Defoe stay in the North-East the London club are prepared to firm-up their long-held interest in Brentford’s Scott Hogan.
The Salford-born striker, who has scored 13 times in 25 appearances for the Championship side this season, has been tracked by several clubs, with Reading already having a £7m bid rejected.
He is in demand, which may make it more difficult for Martin O’Neill to lure the Irish qualified hitman over to the green side.
