West Ham have targeted four central midfielders of proven calibre as they look to strengthen their squad this month, according to Sky Sports.
The broadcaster claim on their transfer centre blog ( Tuesday, 6.18pm) that the Hammers manager David Moyes has made the capture of a central midfielder his priority in January.
Sky report that West Ham’s targets are Stoke City’s Joe Allen, Newcastle United’s Jonjo Shelvey, Sevilla’s Steven N’Zonzi and Sporting Lisbon’s William Carvalho.
It is said that Stoke are unwilling to sell former Liverpool man Allen, but does not explain the stances of the employers of the other three.
OPINION
It does not require too much analysis of West Ham’s performances in the opening half of the season to deduce that the team are chronically short of quality in the centre of the pitch. Mark Noble, Cheikhou Kouyate and Pedro Obiang are willing performers and are capable of holding their own against many Premier League teams, but the Hammers need a kingpin who can dictate the play and tempo in a way that the current regulars are unable to consistently do. Allen, Shelvey and N’Zonzi are all vastly experienced in the Premier League, while Carvalho has genuine pedigree and was a key member of Portugal’s Euro 2016-winning squad. All four would be upgrades on the options available to Moyes, particularly Allen, N’Zonzi and Carvalho.