Michail Antonio's form may be helping but there's little doubting the fact that West Ham United are light in the central striking department.

Indeed, with Sebastien Haller sold to Ajax in a deal David Moyes admitted they hadn't planned for, the rumour mill has gone into overdrive though even the Scotsman has hinted he's wary of adding to the list of poor signings the club have made in that position over the years. 

Speaking on the Touchline Talk Podcast recently, Dean Jones revealed the Hammers weren't aware of just how far down the line Haller was with the Dutch giants, suggesting the move came as a relative surprise.

However, during an exclusive interview with GIVEMESPORT, former West Ham hero Marlon Harewood claims the exit had been coming for a long time. 

"I could just tell it was coming really in the sense of, if they got a good offer, they wouldn't really turn something like that down," Harewood explained. 

"When you're a striker at West Ham they don't look at you as a player, they look at you as your goals ratio.

"It's a hard one to talk about because he had a rough time. 

"He wanted to work hard for West Ham and do well but it hasn't really worked for him over his time there."

GIVEMESPORT's Jonathan Gorrie says... 

Unlike many of the other infamously bad signings West Ham have made in their search for a striker, Haller did at least prove useful at times. 

While you'd expect as much from a man they paid £45m for, it's not as if his signing was a complete waste of time, considering he scored decisive goals against Watford, Southampton, Sheffield United and Crystal Palace during his 53-game stint clad in claret and blue.

Granted, not the return you'd expect from a player to have cost so much money but there were at least fairly big moments for the Ivorian, even if they proved to be fairly fleeting. 

Still, with Antonio establishing himself as the first-choice marksman since Moyes came back to the club, having him as a back-up after such an investment didn't look like a long-term solution.