What a predicament West Ham United are in.

A loan striker leading the line, their youngest strikers now both thirty two, one crocked, the other so far past his prime but still paid £120k a week to sit on the bench.

And the chances of Michail Antonio ever pulling on the 9 shirt again for the club would seem about as great as West Ham’s chances of making it into the Champions League slots.

Niclas Fullkrug at 32 years old now must surely be finished as a front line striker. The standard.co.uk ‘s report today that he is out until April means that this season will be a complete write-off for the £27 million Steidten signing: He has started three premier league games.

Out til April- Fullkrug has made just three starts in a West Ham shirt.

Luis Guilherme has yet to start a West Ham game after a spend of £25.5 million and must now be jettisoned in the summer to recoup some of ‘Steidtens millions’.

The Hammers have a white elephant on they hands who might – might- be worth half what was shelled out.

At least with Summerville injured, Guilherme might get the chance to put himself in the shop window for the summer: His value can only go upward from where it stands right now.

He showed flashes of pace against Chelsea and the young man might yet prove he’s an appreciating asset for the club.

On Fullkrug and Guilherme the errant Technical Director wasted £52 million. And still some readers lament Steidten’s sacking.

If ever there was an absolute cast iron argument for appointing Dan Ashworth as Director Of Football at West Ham United, that previous sentence was it.

Before ‘breaking the bank’ on another striker purchase in the summer, can we at least have the right person dealing with the acquisition of talent at West Ham? The long list of failed frontmen is quite long enough and it is time for an Ashworth-inspired success story.