West Ham United remain one of the clubs still looking to secure new additions over the remaining hours of the summer transfer window, and now a fresh update has emerged on the club's pursuit of a target.
Who could West Ham sign on transfer deadline day?
According to CBS journalist Ben Jacobs, West Ham are one of the clubs interested in signing Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho before the window closes.
Jacobs took to Twitter on Thursday afternoon to reveal:
"Leicester value Kelechi Iheanacho at close to £20m. Enzo Maresca would rather keep the Nigerian striker, but there is Premier League interest from Crystal Palace. Wolves and West Ham have also looked."
Will West Ham sign Kelechi Iheanacho?
The Hammers have enjoyed an extremely positive start to their Premier League campaign as they are currently second in the Premier League table following their unbeaten record in their first three fixtures so far.
Whilst David Moyes will be thrilled with the performances and resilience his squad has shown since losing a number of key players this summer including Declan Rice and Gianluca Scamacca, however, it will be important to make sure quality depth is available in all areas of the pitch as fixture congestion looms.
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West Ham will be competing on all fronts this season to improve further upon winning their first major trophy in decades last season and Moyes will be desperate to not only compete comfortably in the Premier League but put together a strong run in both domestic trophy opportunities and in the Europa League.
As a result, the signing of Iheanacho would be a great piece of business for the Irons, as both Michail Antonio and Danny Ings are well into their 30s at this point, so a younger prospect for the future is needed.
Despite the Foxes' plight last season, the Nigerian forward – hailed "incredible" by former Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers – scored five goals, registered five assists and created seven big chances, as well as averaging 1.4 shots on goal per game, according to Sofascore.
Not only that, Iheanacho ranked in the top 15% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues last season for assists, shot-creating actions, progressive carries, successful take-ons and progressive passes received per 90 minutes, as per FBref.
Such a move could well see Moyes sign his very own Gabriel Jesus.
Indeed, the Brazilian is named as one of the most comparable players to Iheanacho over the last 12 months, according to FBref, with the pair sharing a number of similarities in their output last season.
When comparing the goal-scoring duo, the pair came close in several key attributes including assists (5 v 6), shots on goal per 90 (3.03 v 3.31), shot-creating actions per 90 (3.59 v 3.62), goal-creating actions per 90 (0.48 v 0.52) and aerial duels won (32.6% v 36.1%).
Combine that with the fact they have a point to prove after being sold on by Manchester City, and there is more than just a stylistic profile to link them together.
With that being said, it would be a no-brainer for the Hammers to seal a deal for Iheanacho today as he could add even more creativity and consistency in the attacking threat for the season ahead and beyond.
