West Ham United fans have had to remain patient in their bid to strengthen the squad this January but as the window approaches its closing point in just over a week, moves are starting to be made.
A loan deal that will see Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips arrive at the London Stadium is on the verge of being completed while it's also thought that the Irons are looking to conclude a move for Nordsjaelland winger Ibrahim Osman.
Having trodden a similar path to Mohamed Kudus, there is hope he could be the next big thing at the Hammers.
That said, he's not the only offensive addition that could be added to David Moyes' squad before the window slams shut on February 1st.
Who West Ham could sign after Kalvin Phillips
A move for Phillips is incredibly shrewd from the West Ham hierarchy who are still perhaps searching for the type of influential figure Declan Rice was in the east end.
Edson Alvarez has, in part, helped to fill the gap but such a colossal void was never going to be filled with one player. This is where Phillips comes into the equation.
A striker could also be on the agenda for Moyes and Co this month with new reports from Italy detailing some exciting news.
According to Calcio Salernitana, long-term target Boulaye Dia is hoping to close out a move to West Ham. The report states that he 'dreams' of a move to the Premier League and hopes to join the London side.
A move could well be completed at a bargain price too, with a fee of £13m set by his club Salernitana in Serie A.
Gianluca Scamacca
Sassuolo
Felipe Anderson
Lazio
Carlos Sanchez
Fiorentina
Simone Zaza
Juventus
Angelo Ogbonna
Juventus
Pedro Obiang
Sampdoria
Marco Borriello
Roma (loan)
Pablo Armero
Napoli (loan)
Antonio Nocerino
Milan (loan)
Thomas Hitzlesperger
Lazio
Scamacca repeat for West Ham
West Ham haven't exactly had a great line of success when dipping their toes into the Italian market in recent years with Felipe Anderson and Angelo Ogbonna standing proud as the lone successful additions in that dismal-looking list above.
A certain Gianluca Scamacca threatened to be a success story, joining West Ham with a pedigree for scoring goals.
In his final campaign with Sassuolo before joining the Hammers for £35.5m, he had found the net on 16 occasions in 36 league outings. That was certainly an impressive return but sadly those heroics couldn't be repeated in England.
The Italian only scored eight goals in 27 matches before he was shipped away to Atalanta back in his homeland.
Dia has the ability to be a similar story for West Ham. The striker had a "remarkable" season in 2022/23, as scout Antonio Mango put it, impressively bagging 16 times in 33 appearances. That tally, rather coincidentally, is exactly the same as Scamacca before he moved to the Premier League, albeit in fewer outings.
2020/21
16 (39)
12 (29)
2021/22
7 (35)
16 (38)
2022/23
16 (33)
8 (27)
2023/24
4 (14)
6 (20)
Now, you can't exactly read too much into that but for the 27-year-old, he looks too inconsistent to really guarantee success. Indeed, the Senegalese forward has scored only four times this term and just seven times in 2021/22. That's hardly very prolific.
If we are looking for positives then Dia certainly has the ability to offer more than just goals. He ranks within the top 13% of strikers in Europe's top five leagues for take-ons attempted every 90 minutes, as well as sitting inside the best 6% for carries into the final third.
He is a particularly mobile striker, one who happens to trump Michail Antonio in that regard. West Ham's current striker is in the best 19% for attempted take-ons but doesn't drop deep enough to carry the ball into the final third, sitting inside the top 39% for carries into that area of the field.
The ability to beat a player would no doubt appeal to West Ham but the fact of the matter is that Dia not potent enough. Sadly, this could be another Scamacca-like blunder if a move was sealed before February 1st.
