Beware the West Ham strikers' graveyard: The Hammers have spent over £300m on 54 forwards since 2010... but can latest signing Evan Ferguson solve their attacking woes?

Deadline day was a disappointing one for West Ham on the pitch as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea, but they did manage to get a new face through the door. After losing Michail Antonio and Niclas Fullkrug to injury, a new striker was top of the agenda, and the Irons achieved their goal as they brought in Evan Ferguson on loan from Brighton. After bursting onto the scene on the south coast, Ferguson has endured a frustrating 12 months due to a loss of form and injury setbacks, but he remains highly rated.

Yet history is against him. Since David Sullivan and the late David Gold took ownership of West Ham in 2010, 54 strikers - including Ferguson - have passed through the club with over £300m splashed out searching for that dream goalscorer. Twenty of these players failed to net once and their names have been reduced to the status of fiendish pub trivia questions. Only a handful can be described as a success.

Mail Sport recounts every single one of them, what happened during their time with the club and what became of them, as Ferguson bids to prove that he is the real deal. Evan Ferguson has joined West Ham on loan from Brighton until the end of the season. West Ham have signed over 50 strikers since David Sullivan and David Gold took the club over back in 2010, with an outlay of over £300million. Graham Potter will hope Ferguson can succeed where other West Ham strikers have failed.

Joined the club: January 2010 (loan deal). Left the club: June 2010. Goals: 0. No stranger to the Premier League, Mido had plied his trade in the top flight with Tottenham, Middlesbrough and Wigan before joining West Ham on loan from Boro in the winter window of 2010. But he contributed nothing to the attack and after failing to score in nine league matches, he returned to Boro. The start of a number of busted flushes that West Ham would pick up to lead the line.

Impact rating: 1/10. Benni McCarthy. Joined the club: January 2010 (£2.5m). Left the club: April 2011. The South African forward became the first signing of the Gold-Sullivan era after completing a £2.5m move from Blackburn Rovers. At the time of signing, he was regarded as one of the top-flight's deadliest strikers but he endured a dreadful spell at West Ham, failing to score in his 14 appearances and was eventually released by the club in April 2011.

The writing was on the wall when he was left out of manager Avram Grant's 25-man squad for the second-half of this season. Talk about an anti-climax transfer. He has since moved into coaching, and worked under Erik ten Hag at Manchester United. Benni McCarthy was dreadful in his 14-month spell and his contract was eventually terminated. Frederic Piquionne. Joined the club: January 2010 (£1m). Left the club: February 2013.

Goals: 11. Having impressed on loan at Portsmouth the previous season, Piquionne returned to the Premier League on a permanent basis when West Ham brought him in from Lyon. A rare feat for any recent West Ham striker signing, Piquionne did record a double-figure tally in front of goal, finishing with 11 in 62 games. He had 11 assists to match in a return better than many of his peers signed in the same window.

There was a brief stint on loan at Doncaster Rovers - who eventually got relegated to League One - before he signed for Portland Timbers in MLS. Impact rating: 5/10. Joined the club: January 2010 (Free transfer). Goals: 4. The fourth and final striker that West Ham gambled on in their bid to avoid the drop, which they did (just about). Ilan was signed alongside Mido, McCarthy and Piquionne and arrived on a free transfer from French side Saint-Etienne.

His four goals in the league were crucial, three of which came in a four-game run against Everton, Sunderland, Liverpool and Wigan. It was a brief fling and off he went in the summer of 2010 with job done in keeping the Hammers up. Pablo Barrera. Joined the club: July 2010 (£4m). Left the club: July 2012. A four-year contract with the option of an extra year was a show of faith... blind faith it turned out, as Barrera never managed to get off the ground.

His backers will say he was not an out-and-out striker and was better as a winger but zero goals says it all. No goals, no assists and West Ham were relegated. The perfect cocktail for a transfer 'flop' if ever we've seen one. Pablo Barrera (right) signed a four-year deal when he arrived but was soon frozen out. Victor Obinna. Joined the club: August 2010 (loan deal). Left the club: June 2011. Goals: 8. This is a curious one. Here was a player with bags of ability and yet for some reason he went from club to club without being able to settle.

Much was expected of the Nigerian when he signed on loan from European giants Inter Milan, having previously impressed in Italy with Chievo, but in the end West Ham elected not to make it a permanent stay. He managed eight goals in all competitions but his highlight was undoubtedly three assists in a 4-0 rout of Manchester United in the League Cup. In that moment, that night, he was a world-beater. Some West Ham fans are still wondering what happened to that player.