Does Diafra Sakho still have a future at West Ham? The Davids think so

You would think that after his various injury issues, constant rumors of him possibly leaving the club and arrival of Javier Hernandez last week that Diafra Sakho’s days at West Ham United are numbered.

But that amazingly appears to not be the case at all. In fact, in the mind of co-owner David Sullivan, Sakho is still a massive key to the Hammers outlet.

The porn movie making half of the two Davids said many interesting things in his interview with Sky Sports and Talk Sport’s Jim White earlier this week. Buried underneath his jabs at Arsenal having easy cup draws and slamming Dimitri Payet’s erratic behavior was Sullivan’s comments on the Senegalese forward.

When asked if Slaven Bilic is the manager to give West Ham a Premier League Top 7 finish this season, Sullivan felt that Sakho would be instrumental to the team’s success.

“I think you need a bit of luck with injuries and we’ve had no luck with injuries,” Sullivan said. “At the moment Mr. Diafra Sakho is 100% good and that will make a huge difference in the season.”

Either Sullivan really does love himself some Diafra Sakho, or he truly knows that Sakho is still very much in Bilic’s plans to be a vital player this upcoming campaign. With Hernandez brought in, it seemed like Sakho’s days would be numbered at the club. Both he and Andy Carroll’s inactivity is why the Mexican star was brought in for a summer in which the club was looking for a durable (and younger) line-leading forward. Carroll has been much more available than Sakho as of late, meaning that the English giant and Hernandez are the top two strikers currently on the depth chart.

Surely with all of those tidbits of information, Sakho would be an afterthought in the club’s plans for good. And that is before considering that his Hammers’ contract runs out next summer and that he is slated to at least not be with the club beyond the 2017-18 season.

But not only does David Sullivan think Sakho can still be a major player at West Ham this season. The other owning David, Mr. Gold, thanks highly of Sakho’s Hammers career remaining very much in play. He tweeted in celebration of the 27-year-old’s imminent return to first team training yesterday.

However, with not only the arrival of Hernandez but other major attacking signing Marko Arnautovic’s ability to play up front as well, when will Sakho have any time to play, let alone come close to garnering regular minutes? Unlike Arnautovic, Michail Antonio or Andre Ayew, Sakho isn’t versatile enough to play in the midfield. Out and out forward is the only spot on the field the talented former Metz goalscorer can play.

With Ashley Fletcher bound for Middlesbrough, Sakho doesn’t have to worry about falling below third on the striker’s depth chart. And there is no question that he has the power, pace and skill to cause any defense in the Premier League a problem when fully fit.

But even if he is fortunate to have a full clean bill of health all season in 2017-18, as well as the two Davids support, it still will take some events for Diafra Sakho to be a significant, consistent contributor for West Ham United again.