Graham Potter was only in charge of West Ham two games already, but even in such a short space of time, you start to see some patterns in how the Englishman plans to get the best out of his group of players.
The Hammers lost Potter’s first game in charge despite leading 1-0 against Aston Villa in the FA Cup, before beating Fulham four days later in Premier Leaguea 3-2 win in Potter’s first match at the London Stadium, with goals from Carlos Soler, Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta.
Potter has already shown his willingness to change positions game by game, to get the best out of his group and give them the best possible chance against each different opposition.
Because of this, Soucek and Paqueta played almost as two strikers against Fulham, looking to benefit from the second ball for strikers like Mohammed Kudus.
Niclas Füllkrug went down injured in Potter’s first game, but he offered a similar dynamic to Paquet and Kudus, showing that another striker who brings similar attributes could be very important to the way West Ham want to play, at least in the short term. term as they try to climb the table.
West Ham want to strengthen their attack
According to reports ExWhuEmployee, an Irons insiderWest Ham are interested in Fulham striker Rodrigo Muniz, who has been added to their list of potential attacking targets this month. A loan plus purchase obligation is reportedly being discussed. According to the Guardianthat buyout clause would be around £30m.
The 23-year-old joined Fulham back in 2021 from Brazilian Serie A side Flamengo, but didn’t break through until the 2023/24 season. for the club. Brazilian scoring ten goals in his breakout seasonmaking 33 appearances in all competitions.
Muniz has has made 22 appearances in all competitions for Fulham this termscoring four goals, one assist and playing a total of 733 minutes.
How Muniz compares to West Ham’s forwards
West Ham’s current attacking options are Michail Antonio, Danny Ings and Fullkrug. Of the three, two are injured – Antonio and Fullkrug – leaving Ings as the only fit centre-forward.
This is problematic because not only does he not find the net regularly, but he doesn’t offer the same skill set as a target man or focal point for the side.
|
Muniz vs. Antonio and Fullkrug (2024/25) |
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|---|---|---|---|
|
Statistics (per 90 minutes) |
Muniz |
Antonio |
Full circle |
|
Goals |
0.49 |
0.10 |
0.53 |
|
Assists |
0.12 |
0.10 |
0.18 |
|
xG |
0.35 |
0.24 |
0.34 |
|
Progressive Carries |
0.59 |
3.12 |
0.73 |
|
Progressive passes |
2.50 |
1.94 |
0.98 |
|
Total strokes |
3.66 |
2.08 |
2.11 |
|
Goals/Shoot |
0.13 |
0.05 |
0.25 |
|
Key passes |
0.88 |
0.97 |
1.71 |
|
Actions to create a shot |
1.32 |
2.37 |
2.68 |
|
Touch (Pen area) |
4.71 |
3.87 |
4.88 |
|
Aerial duels won |
5.44 |
1.83 |
4.88 |
|
Statistics taken from FBref |
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When comparing the three strikers, you can see that Muniz is much more similar to Fullkrug, providing box presence and aerial prowess. This is compared to Antonio who offers more on the forward and carry side, along with overall creation for the team in terms of shot creation actions.
Actions that create a shot are the parts of the game that lead to a shot. This includes moments such as passing, receiving or drawing fouls.
Tagged as “handful” in the past from Premier League icon Alan Shearer, he said that Muniz “terribly” who you can play against, which is exactly what you need from a centre-forward. In contrast, it’s safe to say that Fullkrug was pretty easy to handle for top defenses in 2024/25.
By bringing Muniz to the club, Potter would have another striker option that is much more suited to his current idea of trying to maximize his best players like Kudus, Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen when he returns, having a centre-point/target type of man behind them to make plays .
