By Conor Hogan

West Ham are interested in a move for Brazil and Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus, according to Milan Live.

The 28-year-old Arsenal forward has been linked with a move away from Emirates Stadium following the arrival of striker Viktor Gyökeres from Sporting CP in the summer. The Swedish striker has four goals in his first ten league games for the Gunners, who currently sit at the top of the Premier League table.

Jesus is currently out injured with a cruciate ligament tear, which he sustained in January – he is expected to be out for another two months. With this in mind, Arsenal could look to offload the former Manchester City forward, with West Ham reportedly a potential destination.

The Brazilian is undoubtedly a very talented player – in 229 Premier League appearances, he has scored 76 times and provided 45 assists. An integral part of Pep Guardiola’s dominant Manchester City side between 2017 and 2022, Jesus also has 24 goals in 51 Champions League appearances – nearly a goal every two games.

The forward has been a thorn in West Ham’s side during his time in England, contributing four goals and four assists in thirteen games against the Hammers. The signings of Danny Ings, James Ward-Prowse, and Callum Wilson in recent years have shown that the Irons won’t shy away from signing players who have often been a burden to the team in the past.

However, what makes Jesus a more realistic signing for West Ham is, ironically, his troubling injury record. The Brazilian is already ruled out until the winter transfer window and would need additional time to regain match fitness.

Since arriving in North London in 2022 from Manchester City, his fitness issues have been nothing short of alarming. Arsenal’s No. 9 has spent a total of 205 days on the sidelines across six separate injury spells – and that was before suffering his ligament tear in January.

Considering West Ham’s senior strikers currently consist of the injury-prone Niclas Füllkrug and Callum Wilson, the signing of Jesus would make zero sense for the Hammers. Like the Irons’ striking duo, the talent is there, but Jesus would simply not be available enough to justify paying his extortionate weekly wage.

Wilson has stayed fit so far, but it feels like only a matter of time until he injures himself again. West Ham will need to find a reliable striker in the January window. Jesus is an excellent forward with a wealth of experience at the highest level and would be adored by Hammers fans– but he is not the striker West Ham need at this time.