Javier Hernandez is looking to leave West Ham and move to Spain, according to a report in The Evening Standard.
The report suggests the Mexican has struggled to settle at the club since joining two years ago from Bayer Leverkusen. The same publication claims the Hammers want Celta Vigo striker Maxi Gomez and therefore will allow Hernandez to leave.
For two different clubs, the Mexican has scored 52 goals in 156 league matches, he has also provided 10 assists in those games. Those goal figures could be a benefit to Southampton.
Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has identified a lack of goals from his side last season as an area of concern. This is evidenced by his first signing and a player the club has attempted to sign. Moussa Djenepo joined the club earlier this month after securing a move from Standard Liege. The Mali international scored seven goals and provided three assists from 25 league games last season.
As reported by The Telegraph, Southampton has also made a bid for Birmingham striker Che Adams. The forward scored 22 and set five in 46 league matches last term.
Hasenhuttl could sign Hernandez as a replacement for Charlie Austin. The Southampton striker only managed to score two goals in 25 league matches last season. Saints finished 16th in the table, but were 15th overall for goals scored.
When Austin and Hernandez are compared side by side, the West Ham striker comes out on top, according to the website Whoscored. The Mexican fires more shots per game than his counterpart, with a score of 1.5 compared to 1.3 for Austin.
Hernandez, who is valued at £10.8m by transfermarkt.com, is also more successful at passing, finding a team-mate 71.1% of the time, while the Englishman’s success rate is at 58.6%. Overall, Hernandez ranks at 6.59 compared to 6.27 for Austin.
