Graham Potter has only been in charge of West Ham for two games now, but even in such a short space of time, you are beginning to see some patterns emerge 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 going 1-0 up against Aston Villa in the FA Cup, before beating Fulham four days later in the Premier League, with a 3-2 victory in Potter’s first game at the London Stadium, with goals from Carlos Soler, Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta.
Potter has already shown his willingness to tweak positions game by game, in order to get the best from his group and give them the best possible chance against each differing opposition.
This saw Soucek and Paqueta playing as almost a two upfront against Fulham, looking to benefit from second balls for the likes of Mohammed Kudus to attack.
Niclas Füllkrug went down injured in Potter’s first game, but he was offering a similar dynamic with Paqueta and Kudus, which shows another striker addition who brings similar attributes could be heavily important to the way West Ham want to play, at least in the short-term as they try to climb the table.
West Ham want to strengthen their attack
According to reports from Irons insider ExWhuEmployee, West Ham are interested in Fulham striker, Rodrigo Muniz, who has been added to their list of potential striker targets this month. A loan plus obligation to buy is apparently being discussed. As per the Guardian, that purchase clause would sit at around £30m.
The 23-year-old joined Fulham back in 2021 from Brazilian Serie A side, Flamengo, but only broke through in the 2023/24 season for the club. The Brazilian scored ten goals in his breakthrough season, making 33 appearances in all competitions.
Muniz has made 22 appearances in all competitions for Fulham this term, scoring four goals, providing one assist and totalling 733 minutes played.
How Muniz compares to West Ham's strikers
West Ham’s current striker options are Michail Antonio, Danny Ings and Fullkrug. Of those three, two of them are injured – Antonio and Fullkrug – which makes Ings the only fit centre forward.
That’s problematic because not only does he not find the net regularly but he doesn’t offer that same set of skills as a target man or focal point for the side.
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
Shots Total
3.66
2.08
2.11
Goals/Shot
0.13
0.05
0.25
Key Passes
0.88
0.97
1.71
Shot-Creating Actions
1.32
2.37
2.68
Touches (Pen Area)
4.71
3.87
4.88
Aerial Duels Won
5.44
1.83
4.88
When comparing the three strikers, you can see Muniz is much more like Fullkrug, providing box presence and aerial prowess. That’s in comparison to Antonio who offers more on the side of progression and carrying ability, alongside overall creation for the team with regard to shot-creating actions.
Shot-creating actions are pieces of play that lead to a shot. These include moments such as a pass, take-on or foul being drawn.
Labelled as a “handful” in the past by Premier League icon Alan Shearer, he went on to say that Muniz is “horrible” to play against, which is exactly what you need from a centre-forward. In contrast, it’s safe to say that Fullkrug has been pretty easy to handle for top-flight defences in 2024/25.
By bringing Muniz to the club, Potter would have another striker option who is far more suited to his current idea of trying to maximise his best players such as Kudus, Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen when he returns, having a focal point/target man type for them to play off.
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