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Report: West Ham Lining Up Marouane Chamakh Loan

According to Daily Mail, the east London club are in the process of finalizing a loan for the Arsenal forward

Steve Bardens

Yes, it's the Daily Mail reporting this, so take it as you wish (until anything concrete happens, it's still a rumor at best). That said, they've gone to print with an article reporting that the Hammers are in advanced negotiations with Arsenal and Marouane Chamakh regarding a season-long loan as West Ham struggle to match their stout defense with a legitimate attack up front. (Update: the BBC is now in on this story. h/t: PSUkegreen) The loan particulars include Arsenal paying a portion of Chamakh's £65,000/week wages. My sincerest apologies if you just choked on your sip of coffee when reading his salary.

Why West Ham and Marouane Chamakh? Well, to start, Andy Carroll has suffered two injuries thus far in the season, netted exactly one goal on 22 shots in the league up to this point, and basically making anyone who trusts him to be a viable option in their attack look foolish and unaware, and Carlton Cole hasn't proven he's capable of playing the role effectively either (the club's top-two goal scorers, Kevin Nolan and Mark Noble, are midfielders). Desperate times call for desperate measures, or something like that, so it makes sense that Sam Allardyce would turn to a tall, crestfallen striker that's down on his luck to help resurrect his club's dire situation.

Nothing is set in stone yet, but there appears to be much more noise coming out of Arsenal regarding current players on their way out as opposed to potential players on their way in. If all these reported departures indeed happen, this could potentially set the stage for Arsene Wenger to nail down the signings many are calling for.