West Ham, led by co-chairman David Sullivan and technical director Tim Steidten, are now favourites to sign a £25 million forward in January.
Forwards linked with moves to West Ham
The east Londoners are believed to be prioritising attacking options above all else next month, as they seek to give manager David Moyes what he needs to make another European push.
Moyes may well end up leaving West Ham at the end of the Premier League season, with his contract set to expire in 2024. However, until then, it's perhaps imperative that they bring in more attacking options.
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As highlighted by a recent injury to Michail Antonio, and Jarrod Bowen's knock coming back from international duty, Moyes could suddenly find himself very short of numbers going forward depending on the fitness of his squad. Stuttgart striker Serhou Guirassy has been linked with a move to West Ham, while RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner is another player who could join Moyes in the winter.
This comes as Sullivan and Steidten seemingly work in tandem on the club's transfer activity, with the latter's influence growing behind the scenes.
“Tim Steidten’s role at the club has grown in seniority since his arrival,” stated club insider ExWHUemployee recently.
“His knowledge, targets and dealings have really impressed Sullivan, who now fully trusts Tim as his right-hand-man. This will almost certainly mean that Steidten will be leading the search for our next manager in the future. However, its understood his main focus for now is player contracts and January recruitment – with a striker top of the list.”
Now, according to a report by TEAMtalk, there is another attacker who West Ham could well bring to the London Stadium soon.
West Ham "best placed" to sign Cherki
According to their information, that man is Lyon forward Rayan Cherki. West Ham are the Premier League favourites to sign Cherki next month with Chelsea pulling out of the race to sign him.
Lyon are now willing to cash in on the 20-year-old amid their terrible season in Ligue 1, and Moyes' side are allegedly "best placed" to do a deal for him. A transfer is apparently "there to be done" for around £25 million, with the French side ready to part company for a lesser fee when compared to summer.
The playmaker's current deal expires in 2025, having extended it earlier this year, but a run of poor form has prompted Lyon to green-light his sale mid-season.
Cherki scored four goals and bagged six assists last term, with former Napoli and Lyon boss Rudi Garcia once calling him a player with "exceptional qualities".
"He's a player with exceptional qualities," said Garcia.
"He's already worked with the National 2 group since the start of the season, which is quite rare for a 15-year-old player. He's mature and has great technical qualities. He reminds me of Hatem Ben Arfa."
