Striker who never scored for West Ham hits shock 26-minute European brace

Pablo Felipe is hardly throwing his name into the hat for the Championship’s Golden Boot, but at least he has left the dreaded West Ham United ‘no-goal club’.

The formerly profligate Portuguese-born forward rescinded his membership when opening his account eight months into his Hammers career against Fulham in the Carabao Cup, handing his wristband to Benni McCarthy before passing Mido and Simone Zaza on the way out the door.

After Pablo waited eight months to score a goal for West Ham United, a second arrived only a few weeks later. He converted from an Edvin Austbo corner as Lincoln City were thrashed 6-0 at Sincil Bank. In fact, across seven starts in all competitions this season, Pablo has provided four goal contributions.

Whatever happens from here on in, at least he won’t be mentioned alongside the likes of McCarthy, Mido, Zaza or Albian Ajeti again.

An £8 million signing from FC Basel in 2019, Ajeti is another who was doomed never to open his account in claret and blue. The stocky centre-forward only played 12 times for the Hammers, granted, but he would become yet another failed striker acquisition for a club who have long been known as the graveyard where many promising goal-getters are buried.

Ajeti can finish when given the opportunity. Well, sometimes. Nowhere near as reliably as his various clubs would like, of course, but he is capable. He showed that in Madrid last night.

Ajeti scored twice in the space of 26 minutes as FC Lugano stunned Getafe with a thumping 5-2 win in the Europa Conference League. He is currently joint-top of the competition’s scoring charts. A competition West Ham famously won back in 2023.

Unfortunately, days like yesterday have been pretty few and far between. Ever since he left Basel the first time, in fact.

Back at St Jakobs Park, Ajeti helped Basel claim the Swiss Super League title in 2025. He would score only five times in 45 games that following season, though, and currently has two in eight league matches for Lugano. From 2019 onwards, including a poor stint at Celtic, he’s scored a pretty underwhelming 36 goals in 174 games.

Getafe, then, can consider themselves very unfortunate. Not many teams over the last half-decade ran managed to run into an in-form Albian Ajeti.