Hammers to Sign the New Balotelli

It has been a mighty exciting season so far and many fans justifiably believe that the Hammers can make it to Europe if they can manage to get a supply of fit strikers. With Diafra Sakho and Andy Carroll sidelined, the spotlight has fallen on Enner Valencia and Nikica Jelavic. Both have responded well, with Valencia finally finding the form that was promised when he first arrived after a super 2014 World Cup with Ecuador.

However, the Hammers board have decided to take a gamble in the January transfer window in order to bolster our attacking resources with Nigerian striker Emmanuel Emenike having undergone a medical yesterday. Things are thus set to get even more exciting as the troubled hitman has plenty of previous form and has even been compared to the infamously unstable Mario Balotelli!

Included amongst Emenike's many difficulties are dropped charges of match fixing, fisticuffs with teammates, legal action over media claims that he is 7 years older than his passport indicates, fines for making inappropriate gestures during matches and walking off the pitch early in the first half in response to abuse from his own fans - the latter during a match against Slaven Bilic's Besiktas!

Hammers fans will be somewhat reassured by Bilic's record of dealing with players who step out of line but perhaps more worrying is the fact that at the heart of Emenike's problems has been a terrible loss of form dating back over the past two years. Between 2011 and 2014 he excelled at Spartak Moscow and Fenerbahce even grabbing the attentions of Arsenal and Chelsea with rumours of a move to the Premiership.

However, Emenike then suffered a dramatic loss of form. He was forced to retire from international duties in 2015 after falling out with the National coach due amidst allegations of disrespectful behaviour to his teamates and, most crucially, failing to score in his final 15 matches. After the walking off the pitch incident he left Fenerbahce being farmed out on loan to Abu Dhabi side Al Ain. He has somewhat rediscovered his goalscoring form but undoubtedly represents a massive risk for the Hammers.

All of which makes Nikica Jelavic's rumoured departure to China sound like foolish business. Moreover, Bilic's determination to maintain squad harmony may well be in jeopardy! Tuesday night's game against Aston Villa looks set to provide the first chance to view Emenike. Hammers fans will be hoping for a good showing as his history suggests that even more than most strikers he is a confidence player.

Either way, this signing is unlikely to be boring!