West Ham ready to offer £30m to sign Michail Antonio replacement in January

West Ham are already looking ahead to the January transfer window as they look to turn around their poor start to the Premier League season, according to a fresh report.

West Ham boss Lopetegui in the firing line

Another disappointing defeat and performance piled the pressure on West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui, as his side fell to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Reduced to 10 men on the stroke of half-time when Edson Alvarez was sent off, the Hammers offered very little as they were comfortably beaten by Forest, leaving the London side languishing in 14th place in the Premier League, a point above newly promoted Leicester City.

It followed a summer in which they backed Lopetegui significantly, signing eight new players for a total outlay in excess of £150m, headed by the arrival of Championship player of the year Crysencio Summerville and promising centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo.

But, the former Wolves boss has already become the first West Ham boss to lose his first three Premier League home games, and there is little sign of the situation improving ten games into the season, piling pressure on him.

Though the Hammers board are still sticking with him, there is a feeling that upcoming games could be crucial as the Hammers face three sides below them alongside games against Arsenal and Newcastle, the calibre of teams that Lopetegui was signed to try and compete with.

One of their biggest problems has been finding the net, with West Ham having scored 13 times so far this season and lacking a clinical striker. Now, they are already looking to fix that in January.

West Ham ready to sign striker for £30m

It has been reported in Brazil that West Ham are ready to raid the South American market once more to sign Corinthians striker Igor Jesus. The Hammers have already signed Luis Guilherme in recent months, though the teenager is yet to feature significantly for Lopetegui’s side as he adapts to life in English football.

And Brazilian outlet Globo [via Sport Witness] claim that West Ham are now ready to follow that addition up with a move for Jesus. In fact, in “recent days”, intermediaries have “approached Botafogo owner John Textor” in order to make a verbal offer for Jesus, with West Ham “wanting to offer £30m” to sign the 23-year-old striker.

Related

West Ham should sack Lopetegui and replace him with fantastic 4-2-3-1 boss

West Ham must sack Lopetegui to bring in this “fantastic” coach as his replacement.

It is added that “Botafogo were impressed with these figures suggested by the agent but will only respond when Julen Lopetegui’s side table an official proposal”, something which could be forthcoming at the end of the Brazilian season, which coincides with the Premier League’s January transfer window.

Though they signed Niclas Füllkrug in the summer transfer window, injury to the German means that West Ham are still lacking a threat at the top of the pitch, with Michail Antonio and Danny Ings now in the twilight of their careers.

Jesus has grabbed eight goals and three assist this season in Brazil, and should he be able to translate his form to the Premier League, he could be a key signing for the Hammers as they look to recover from a dreadful start to the campaign.