West Ham are interested in a move for Lokomotiv Moscow sporting director Erik Stoffelshaus, according to The Sun.
Stoffelshaus, 46, only joined Lokomotiv in January, but is already very highly-rated there after his recruitment overhaul saw the club open up an eight-point lead in the Russian Premier League.
The German spent most of his career with Schalke, before moving to Canada for three years to take up a development role.
He has developed a reputation for discovering young talent, and has revamped Lokomotiv’s recruitment and scouting department on a very tight budget.
They finished last season in eighth place, winning just 10 games, but have now lost just three games in their first 20 to storm ahead with just 10 games to play.
Stoffelshaus’ recruitment of players such as Soloman Kvirkvelia, Maciej Rybus, Eder and Nikita Medvedev have helped turn Lokomotiv’s fortunes around.
Premier League rivals Huddersfield are also said to be eyeing up the 46-year-old.
OPINION
West Ham are in desperate need of someone like Stoffelshaus who can come in and take control of their recruitment strategy, which has been rather erratic in recent windows. The Hammers have spent big in the last few years, and not many of those investments have justified themselves yet. The work of Stoffelshaus is proof that a club can transform their recruitment on a small budget. While West Ham don’t necessarily have a small budget, they need to start spending more wisely, and recruiting someone like Stoffelshaus would help them to do so.