West Ham have dodged Cardiff City transfer bullet and Vincent Tan must kick himself | OneFootball

West Ham were linked with Cardiff City's Yousef Salech this summer, but his slow start to the season means they may see it as a bullet dodged.

West Ham had a very busy summer transfer window as they looked to leave Nuno Espirito Santo with a squad that can win promotion this season.

The early signs are positive on that front, with the Hammers having found their form, but it’s a long season, and there will be some concerns over the squad depth.

With the club having secured huge sums for Mateus Fernandes, Crysencio Summerville and El Hadji Malick Diouf, many expected West Ham to be more active in the market than they were, even if they did invest in new recruits for the squad.

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West Ham were interested in Cardiff City’s Yousef Salech

A host of names were linked with a move to the London Stadium, and one player who was on their radar was Yousef Salech.

It was easy to see why the striker had been attracting attention from the Hammers, as he enjoyed a fine season in League One last time out, scoring 14 goals in 34 games as the Bluebirds won promotion.

Prior to that, he found the net eight times in 20 in the league after joining Cardiff in January of last year in spite of the Welsh side's eventual relegation to the third-tier, so he has a good goalscoring record and has by now established his reputation within the EFL.

Yet, Salech’s game is not just about scoring goals, as he has the physicality to be the focal point for his team, and he is capable of linking play and dealing with the ugly side of the game. Plus, at 24, the ex-Brondby man is still approaching his peak years.

West Ham will be pleased with their attacking options right now

Ultimately, West Ham didn’t make a firm move for Salech, and it’s fair to say they will feel that’s a good decision right now.

While Salech has scored just once in his opening six games, getting goals hasn’t been a problem for Nuno’s side, who are averaging over two a game at this early stage.

Of course, things can change quickly, but with Jarrod Bowen, Joel Piroe, Divine Mukasa, Manor Solomon, Edvin Austbo and Taty Castellanos in their squad, it’s hard to imagine that West Ham will struggle at the top end of the pitch.

In Piroe, West Ham moved for someone who was more of a guarantee than Salech, and he is already showing why he has been the top scorer at this level, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he picked up another golden boot.

Similarly, keeping Castellanos was another real coup, and it should scare the Irons’ rivals that the ex-Lazio man hasn’t got off the mark in the league yet.

He clearly has so much quality, and it seems inevitable that he will start getting on the scoresheet regularly over the coming weeks and months.

Yousef Salech can still come good for Cardiff City

As outlined above, whilst scoring goals is no problem for West Ham, it is a concern for Cardiff, and Salech has had a tough spell.

The striker is without a goal in four, and he has missed some big opportunities for Brian Barry-Murphy’s side, who have played some stylish football, but they lack a cutting edge at times.

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Again, that’s not to say he won’t come good, and all connected to the Welsh side will take great encouragement from Salech’s goal return at this level after he joined.

But, it does suggest that any doubts West Ham may have had over the player may have been well-founded.

As a newly-promoted club, there isn’t the same pressure on Cardiff as the Hammers, where Salech would have been expected to hit the ground running.

Cardiff City may rue failure to sign another striker

Following on from that, Cardiff may well regret not providing more support for Salech in the transfer window, as he is going to be their main source of goals.

It seems apparent that Barry-Murphy isn’t a huge fan of Callum Robinson, so there is no natural number nine to step up if Salech isn’t performing after efforts to re-land Omari Kellyman fell short ahead of the prodigy's switch from Chelsea to Strasbourg after thriving in South Wales on loan from Stamford Bridge last time out.

The recent game against Stoke highlighted Cardiff’s need for attacking reinforcements, as they took control after the break, but they missed several great chances which meant their dominance wasn’t rewarded with the three points they merited.

Barry-Murphy has implemented a clear way of playing that is great to watch, and Cardiff have shown in the opening weeks that they are more than a match for most teams at this level in terms of their general play.

Yet, it’s what happens in both boxes that can determine results, and, right now, Cardiff are lacking in that department.