Niclas Fullkrug has not been the reliable No.9 West Ham hoped he would be.
The Hammers splashed out to bring the Germany international to east London in August, spending £27m after he scored 16 goals in 46 games for Borussia Dortmund last season – and also impressed at UEFA EURO 2024.
However, the 31-year-old is yet to score in his four appearances for West Ham, missing the last nine Premier League games with an Achilles injury.
Fullkrug himself is also disappointed at West Ham – admitting he has experienced a “really bad” start to life at the London Stadium.
The lack of a talismanic figure has contributed to tough times under Julen Lopetegui – with West Ham currently sitting 14th in the Premier League after scoring just 13 goals in 11 outings.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 14 |  West HamWest Ham | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 19 | -6 | 12 |
Now – however – West Ham are monitoring Middlesbrough No.9 Emmanuel Latte Lath as a potential solution to their goalscoring woes.
West Ham scouted Emmanuel Latte Lath on Saturday
A story from Gianluca Di Marzio now states that West Ham were in attendance at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday to watch Middlesbrough record a 6-2 win over Oxford, with the Ivory Coast international the reason behind the scouting trip.
Latte Lath surely impressed scouts with his display, netting a hat-trick to take his tally for the season to seven goals in 16 Championship appearances, firing Middlesbrough into fifth place in the Championship.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 5 |  MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough | 16 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 29 | 19 | 10 | 27 |
The Ivorian – who Middlesbrough signed from Atalanta for £4.2m in August 2023 – is being considered by West Ham as a potential January signing, although Boro will presumably make negotiations difficult for Tim Steidten, given the fact they are well positioned for a promotion push.
TBR Football understand West Ham also admire Stefanos Tzimas as Steidten searches for a new striker.
What TBR Football know about West Ham and Emmanuel Latte Lath
Sources have shared some information regarding the 25-year-old striker with TBR Football.
It is understood that Middlesbrough would demand at least £25m to sell Latte Lath in the middle of the season, a sum of money West Ham cannot afford at this moment in time after splashing roughly £150m on new signings last summer.
Furthermore, Boro would dig their heels in if they remain in contention to be promoted under Michael Carrick when January comes around.
Therefore, Latte Lath may be a more realistic target for the summer, with everything taken into account.