West Ham were linked with the signing of Timo Werner for £53m in January, but how has the club fared since the Chelsea flop?

If there were any lingering doubts that West Ham should have signed a striker this summer, they were dispelled at the weekend.

Following injuries to Michail Antonio – who could be out for three months – and Jarrod Bowen, West Ham are facing a real shortage at centre forward.

David Moyes failed to replace Gianluca Scamacca after selling the Italian to Atalanta after just one season with the Hammers.

Now he will probably have to rely on the failed Danny Ings or the young Divin Mubama.

The only saving grace for West Ham is that the January transfer window is not far away. But neither is AFCON, for which Moyes is likely to lose three strikers: Mohammed Kudus, Said Benrahma and Maxwel Cornet.

There were already rumours that the Hammers were looking to sign a striker this winter.

That was before the injuries to Antonio and Bowen. So it’s no wonder that speculation is now increasing.

However, it has to be said that some of the rumours are quite a disappointment. One in particular.

West Ham have been linked with a move for Timo Werner in January, but how has he fared since his failure at Chelsea?

Last week 90min claimed that Werner was of interest to West Ham and other London clubs.

Now Get Football News Germany has confirmed that West Ham are interested in signing the 27-year-old from RB Leipzig in six weeks’ time.

TeamTalk claim that Werner could favour joining West Ham after they guaranteed him a place in European competition for a third consecutive season.

Would he be a good signing for the Hammers?

Most West Ham fans will remember Werner for his mistakes in a Chelsea shirt.

The German striker became a laughing stock in the Premier League.

That was perhaps a little harsh, as much of the attention Werner received centred on the £53 million price tag for which he was brought to Chelsea from Leipzig.

Having scored 95 goals in 159 games in his first season for RB Leipzig, it is fair to say that Werner did not live up to his feared reputation when he signed for Chelsea.

West Ham’s supposed dream player scored just 23 goals in 89 games for the Blues. And while he won a Champions League medal along the way, he even had his own vote for player of the season.

Back in Germany, his scoring rate has improved somewhat, but he has not yet reached his peak.

Werner has scored 18 goals in 53 games, but is Leipzig’s fourth striker, hence the links to West Ham.

Hammers fans would struggle to find a worse player than Ings.

But whether Werner is the right way forward given all the other talent is another question entirely.

Back in London, Werner would be back in the spotlight. But with less pressure and something to prove, he could be a shrewd signing.

We won’t have to wait long to find out if West Ham are serious about signing Werner.