An Other Austrian For West Ham?

March 28, 2021 at 9:21 am 1 comment

Stuttgart striker Sasa Kalajdzic scored twice for Austria in their World Cup qualifier against Scotland, and is expected to hit the back of the net again when Austria play Faroer on Sunday in Vienna. This would be only his fourth cap for his country and just his second time in the ÖFB starting XI. According to various reports the 23-year-old could be signed by the Hammers in summer, but he is also said to be pursued by other clubs as AS Roma and RB Leipzig.

*Kalajdzic (left) scored a brace in Austria’s 2:2 draw in Scotland*

Rapid Vienna wanted to sign Kaladjic from his club Admira in 2019, but the U21-player preferred to join German outfit VfB Stuttgart that played in the 2nd Bundesliga at that time and helped them to promotion to Germany’s first tier in 2020. In this season so far the frontman wearing the no. 9 shirt at Stuttgart has scored 13 goals and assisted teammates on three occasions in 25 outings in the German Bundesliga.

The Hammers having been quoted to bid £15million for the 2 m tall Austrian, could look to make Kalajdzic their Sebastien Haller replacement this summer. The Irons failed to add cover for Michail Antonio in January and are keen to sign a striker in the summer.

The 23-year-old would be the third Austrian who plays for the Irons in the Premier League, following in the footsteps of Emanuel Pogatetz (2013) and, of course, Hammer of the Year (2018) Marko Arnautovic whose replacement Sébastien Haller could not be dubbed a success at West Ham and was transferred to Ajax Amsterdam in January.

In the time that has transpired since Haller’s departure, West Ham manager David Moyes has been forced to utilise Jarrod Bowen and Jesse Lingard as false nines when Antonio’s troublesome hamstring issues were flaring up.

Standing at 6’5, drawing comparisons to former England international Peter Crouch, it’s no surprise Kalajdzic is proficient aerially, but the Austrian ace also has strong technical ability and has become a clinical marksman for his club VfB Stuttgart in this season’s German Bundesliga.

With SK Rapid having missed out on the young striker two years ago, it would be great to see the Austrian (whose parents are of Serbian origin and came to Austria from Bosnia-Herzegowina) in claret and blue next season!