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Football

11th May 2017

Shane Long’s frustrated prayers could be answered very soon

Premier League side want pace in their team and thought of Long

Ben Kiely

Southampton just isn’t suiting Shane Long at the moment.

The Republic of Ireland international’s season with hasn’t been without its highlights. Undoubtedly he enjoyed sending Liverpool crashing out of the EFL Cup while booking the Saints’ spot in Wembley, but overall, it’s been a disappointing campaign.

A return of three goals in 31 Premier League appearances isn’t exactly what strikers aspire to achieve in the English top flight.

Admittedly, 22 of those appearances were from the bench, but in one of those games he actually returned to the bench after coming on as a substitute.

So he’s not having the best time of it, nor has he shown much signs that he can get out of this slump at his current club, but the Tipperary man reportedly has exactly what Slavin Bilic wants to add to his West Ham team.

The Evening Standard are reporting that Bilic wants to bring pacy players in to exploit the extra long pitch at London Stadium and Long is one of the leading candidates on his radar.

Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi is also said to be one of the potential targets. The Belgian has failed to make an impact at Stamford Bridge since his big-money move and is expected to be made available for loan during the summer.

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