While West Ham United’s pursuit of a new goalkeeper is expected to ramp up this week – Leicester City glovesman Mads Hermansen in the frame – things are less certain on the striker front at the Premier League outfit.
It is a week now since Hammers News reported that ex-Newcastle frontman Callum Wilson was expected to move to West Ham United on a free transfer.
While a heavily incentivised deal for the 33-year-old former England international is still very much on the cards, recent reports suggest that Wilson is considering all his available options before putting pen to paper at the London Stadium.
But, as Carlton Cole put it, West Ham could do with a younger striker as well. If Wilson is a short-term, quick-fix, more long-term solution is also required. Yet, heading into the final month of the summer window, all the paper in your local Clinton Cards would be required if you were to make a list of centre-forwards who have slipped through Graham Potter’s grasp.
Hammers News were informed, via football correspondent Graeme Bailey, that Galatasaray star Baris Alper Yilmaz was a leading target in mid-June.
But, thanks to a timely intervention from Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk, it appears that Yilmaz is ready to close the door on the 2023 Conference League champions, like so many others.
Baris Alper Yilmaz told to reject West Ham United and wait for Liverpool or Tottenham
One of the most versatile forwards on the market, interest in Baris Alper Yilmaz is nothing new.
West Ham reportedly saw a £21 million bid rejected in January, alongside Nottingham Forest. The £30 million-rated Yilmaz appeared keen to leave Galatasaray following a second successive Super Lig title this summer, meanwhile, only to perform a whiplash-inducing U-turn after talking things over with the coach who outmuscled Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce to finish last season on 95 points.
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“Baris Alper Yilmaz has a truly special and distinct place for Okan Buruk. Baris has no intention of leaving,” Sky Sports Turkey reporter Ali Naci Kucuk explained on Tuesday.
“Coach Okan told Baris; ‘Europe’s eyes are on Galatasaray right now. With the moves we’ve made, and the Champions League as our target, play another year, showcase yourself better, and move on to higher-level teams’.
“‘Instead of going to West Ham, go to Tottenham or Liverpool’.”
The implication being, of course, that Baris Alper Yilmaz can fast-track a transfer to a bonafide A-list European giant should he prove himself capable of going head to head with the continent’s best on the Champions League stage.
Carlton Cole wants West Ham to sign a younger striker alongside Callum Wilson
Suggestions that Yilmaz should snub West Ham in favour of a Spurs side who finished below them in the Premier League table last season will not impress many in claret-and-blue, but few would take issue should the Turkey international opt to keep his powder dry and wait for a club in Liverpool’s position.
Yilmaz scored 14 goals while providing a further six assists as Galatasaray dominated the Super Lig again in 2024/25.
Callum Wilson, in contrast, started only two Premier League matches in another season dogged by fitness issues.
“Callum Wilson, when he’s fit, he is a really renowned, really good striker. He gets goals. Always scores against West Ham United!” the aforementioned Carlton Cole tells talkSPORT.
“Look, he’s a good player. He’s a good player. But is it what Graham Potter wants? If it’s what Graham Potter wants, then I will go with it. If he sees the vision, he can make it work.”
“I like Callum Wilson when he’s fit, but how many times is he fit?,” Cole asks. “Can he maintain [the required fitness levels]? That is the biggest problem.
“Yes, we do need a striker but how desperate are we to get a striker in? Can we get one that is younger, maybe to complement Jarrod Bowen?”