West Ham United co-chairman David Gold admits the club is desperate to sign a new striker.

The Hammers recently saw Enner Valencia go down with a leg injury, which is likely to rule him out for up to 12 weeks, while Andy Carroll is sidelined until September of October after undergoing minor knee surgery.

These problems have forced West Ham into the summer transfer market and Gold is eager to complete one, maybe two deals, before the window slams shut on September 1.

"We have been very unfortunate in losing Valencia before the season kicked off," he told Sky Sports News HQ.

"We already believed we needed a striker because of Andy Carroll not rejoining the squad until September.

"Now we really must find another centre forward before the transfer window closes. Yes we would like two, but we have to be realistic."

The Hammers have been heavily linked with Manchester United striker Javier Hernandez while QPR's Charlie Austin is also a reported target.