West Ham unveils Chicharito as tiring striker search bears fruit

West Ham finally has a noteworthy goal-scorer among its ranks.

Mexican international Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez ended a brief spell with Bayer Leverkusen on Monday to complete a £16-million transfer to the Hammers.

Chicharito, who signed a three-year contract with Slaven Bilic's side, is the club's fourth major signing of a busy summer.

More importantly, the 29-year-old's arrival brings an end to a seemingly endless search for a reliable striker.

Last summer's moves for Andre Ayew, Simone Zaza, and Jonathan Calleri brought no relief to the position. In fact, no West Ham player managed to break the 10-goal mark across all competitions last season.

West Ham now has an old-fashioned poacher of some renown. Mexico's all-time leading scorer with 48 goals in 96 appearances, Chicharito also has Premier League experience from his time at Manchester United, which he represented between 2010 and 2015.

He departed for Germany in August 2015, and proceeded to score 39 times in 76 total fixtures with Leverkusen.

"I am very happy to join West Ham United," Chicharito told the club's website. "For me, the Premier League is the best league in the world, and when the opportunity came, I was desperate to sign for this club.

"It was not a difficult decision. West Ham is an historic club and very ambitious. This summer, you can see with the players signed that they are looking to have a very good season."

Chicharito finds high-profile recruits Pablo Zabaleta, Joe Hart, and Marko Arnautovic at the London Stadium. He is expected to relieve the scoring burden from Michail Antonio and Andy Carroll, and help the Hammers return to the top half of the Premier League table after a disappointing 2016-17 campaign.