West Ham United are still looking for reinforcements in the summer transfer window ahead of their return to Premier League football this weekend, and now a fresh update has emerged on a potential transfer target.
What's the latest on West Ham's interest in Elye Wahi?
According to 90min, West Ham have made contact with Montpellier to sign their young striker Elye Wahi this summer.
As per the report, the Hammers are weighing up an offer for the player following the departure of Gianluca Scamacca and is admired by technical director Tim Steidten, however, other Premier League clubs are also interested with Chelsea and Arsenal named as potential suitors.
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It is noted that his Ligue 1 club would expect a fee of around £35m to part ways with their star, an investment that should not be difficult for West Ham to meet due to the money earned on their outgoings over the window so far.
How good is Elye Wahi?
There is no doubt that strengthening the attacking threat in east London will be a huge priority for David Moyes as the club look to improve upon their rollercoaster season in the Premier League last season.
Scamacca's exit and Michail Antonio's reported eagerness to depart this summer presents an opportunity for West Ham to bring in a fresh perspective who can provide consistent goal contributions, working alongside Jarrod Bowen and the other forwards to compete comfortably domestically and on the European stage.
As a result, the signing of Wahi would be a great piece of business for the Hammers in their pursuit to add quality and goal contributions in the final third, as he could provide the club with a worthy Antonio heir who can become the future of the forward line.
As per FBref, when comparing the Montpellier ace's output to Antonio's last season, Wahi has comfortably outperformed his positional peer in a number of key attacking attributes including goal contributions (24 v 8), shots on target rate (58.1% v 33.1%), pass completion (68% v 53.4%) and percentage of dribblers tackled (35.7% v 25%), proving that he could be much more effective in front of goal.
In fact, Wahi was the seventh highest-scoring player in the entirety of Ligue 1 last season, as well as ranking first for his shots on target percentage and fourth for non-penalty goals scored, which is an impressive achievement for a 20-year-old who is just making his start in first team football.
The Frenchman's explosive talent has not gone unnoticed over his short career so far, with Ex-Caen academy director Francis de Taddeo waxing lyrical about Wahi's strengths and development:
"He is a powerful, athletic and fast player with a range of dribbling skills where only he knows what he is going to do next."
With that being said, if West Ham could secure a deal for Wahi it would give Moyes a fantastic young goalscorer at his disposal to usurp Antonio's starting berth and if he could emulate his form of last season, would prove to be a standout performer in improving the side's performances.