West Ham opted against making a move for Leeds forward Jean-Kevin Augustin when he was offered to the club in recent transfer windows.
After Marko Arnautovic left east London in the summer of 2019, the Hammers were once again searching for a top class centre forward to put an end to rumours of a genuine curse hanging over the club - such was and remains their inability to find a consistent goalscorer.
And according to a source within the club, West Ham were offered the chance to sign Augustin in both the January and the summer transfer windows but opted against the move, reports Football Insider.
The Hammers explored the possibility of a loan and a permanent deal for the French striker, but they instead decided to reinforce their squad elsewhere, splashing £40m on Eintracht Frankfurt star Sebastien Haller.
Haller, a proven goalscorer in the Bundesliga, got off to a good start with West Ham, but the goals inevitably dried up for the forward and the club slowly got dragged into an intense relegation battle.
It appears the club's striker curse is so strong that solely being linked with a move to the Irons can remove a forward's goalscoring touch. Augustin had lit up German football with RB Leipzig when given the opportunity, bagging 20 goals and eight assists in 67 appearances for the club.
But following the emergence of Timo Werner as an outright superstar and the arrival of Patrik Schick on loan from AS Roma, the 22-year-old was allowed to join AS Monaco on a season-long loan - but it didn't quite go to plan.
The deal was cut short and the Frenchman subsequently completed a short-term move to Championship side Leeds United, where he has gone on to make only three appearances, having been unable to oust Patrick Bamford from the starting XI.
Ouch.
Source :
90min
