'We've dodged a bullet' - West Ham claim made on reported Coventry City link | OneFootball

FLW's West Ham fan pundit has given his verdict on whether his club benefited from not signing Coventry City's Haji Wright.

West Ham were linked with a wealth of players over the summer, but supporters will be somewhat satisfied with those who arrived at the London Stadium.

One of the key areas of focus was in attack, with Joel Piroe eventually arriving on a season-long loan from Leeds United with an obligation to buy next summer.

Of course, it could have been very different, as there was reported interest in Coventry City's Haji Wright and Troy Parrott, who ended up signing for Champions League side Real Betis.

Wright was prolific in the Championship for the Sky Blues, but hasn't featured in the Premier League due to injury, so did the Hammers swerve from what would have been an unsuccessful signing?

West Ham view on Haji Wright developments

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Wright bagged 17 Championship goals last season, a career high for the United States international, as Coventry were promoted to the Premier League as champions.

The centre-forward has an admirable record in the second tier, netting 45 times across three campaigns for the Sky Blues, making it easy to understand why West Ham were reportedly interested in his services.

However, the 28-year-old suffered a quad injury in mid-August, keeping him out for several months, and has not featured for Frank Lampard's side this season.

When asked if his side dodged a bullet, given how expensive Wright would have been, FLW's West Ham fan pundit Ryan Horn was in no doubt.

"I think we've dodged a bullet, 100%," he said.

"He would have cost a lot of money, and he would have been a starter. Now he's out for months, and when players come back from injury, they're not back to the level they were previously at.

"It's a shame. I hate seeing players get injured, and I know we've been linked with him for a few windows, so I was interested to see how it would have gone with his Championship experience. But we kept Castellanos and Pablo and signed Piroe, so I'm very happy.

"We dodged a bullet, as he would have cost a lot of money, money we just don't have to spend at the moment, and I would rather that we spent it in the areas that we did, like with Engels, so smart decision."

Why the Hammers are better off without Wright

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While there is no doubting Wright's quality in the Championship, it would have been tough for Coventry to part ways with their best forward, meaning he would have been costly.

Lampard's men have been toothless in the Premier League and the American's absence has shown, emphasising just how much he is worth to the West Midlands club.

Then there is the arrival of Joel Piroe, who boasts a similar record to Wright in the second tier, and he has hit the ground running with three league goals in his first seven appearances.

Furthermore, Taty Castellanos, who showed plenty of promise in the Premier League and has a goal and three assists in seven Championship games, has also bagged three in three Carabao Cup matches.

All in all, Nuno Espírito Santo has some stellar options in attack, and with Jarrod Bowen and Manor Solomon out wide, Piroe and Taty should thrive and be among the Golden Boot contenders.

Comparing Wright and Piroe's Championship records

As previously stated, Wright and Piroe both possess superb Championship goalscoring records, but what do the deeper statistics tell us about their performances?

It is difficult to compare the two's displays last season as Piroe featured heavily as a substitute in the Premier League while Wright was flourishing in the second tier.

However, the pair both played prominent parts for their respective sides in the 2023/24 and 24/25 Championship campaigns, although Wright missed a significant part of the latter season through injury.

When analysing the pair across those two seasons, Piroe marginally outscores Wright across the majority of stats, but he did play 20 more games for Leeds.

Clearly, the United States international was more involved inside the penalty area, suggesting he heavily influenced Coventry's attacking play, while Piroe was more of a target man.

Given how West Ham play, with two lethal wingers either side of their forwards, this does suit Piroe's game, but there is a fair argument that Wright could have surpassed his rival if he had signed for the Irons and remained fit.