Journalist Pete O'Rourke has shared an update on West Ham United's transfer plans as they eye a marquee striker signing for manager David Moyes.
Who will West Ham sign?
The Irons officially confirmed their first major signing of the summer in Mexico international Edson Alvarez earlier this week, who now wears the number 19 shirt following his multi-million pound move from Ajax.
Partly due to the drawn-out saga surrounding former star midfielder Declan Rice, who eventually completed a £105 million switch to north London, West Ham were made to wait for their first piece of summer business.
James Ward-Prowse has also joined from Southampton, as the Hammers finally get up and moving.
Journalist Dean Jones, though, speaking to GiveMeSport recently, said that the Hammers could bring in as many as five new additions in total before deadline day.
"It feels like a good opportunity West Ham could take advantage of," said Jones on their links to Chelsea midfielder Trevoh Chalobah.
"I think he could actually survive at Chelsea, just about, but I also think he has bigger aspirations than that, and I’ve heard he has been open to listening to new opportunities.
"We’re looking at a massive month ahead for the Hammers, they will sign five players and have to find a way to make this all add up so they have a much stronger squad."
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Replacing striker Gianluca Scamacca, who recently departed for Serie A side Atalanta after just one season, is another task to solve for Moyes, transfer chief Tim Steidten and sporting director Mark Noble.
According to reporter O'Rourke, writing for Football Insider, West Ham will "next prioritise the signing of a marquee striker" – with a "well-placed source" telling him they're scouring Europe and South America for options.
However, West Ham are also considering Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun, who has found his way on to their radar this summer following an exceptional loan spell at Reims last season.
How good is Folarin Balogun?
The young striker enjoyed a standout breakthrough campaign at Reims over 2022/2023, scoring a brilliant 21 goals and raising his price tag exponentially.
There have been suggestions that Arsenal could charge as much as £50 million for the services of Balogun, a price which may well be considered steep when taking into account his lack of English top flight experience.
However, the 22-year-old has been praised by Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, who called his forward a "really committed" and special player.
"I’m so happy for him,” Arteta said on Balogun's form last season.
“He’s a boy that has a really clear idea of what he wants to do with his career. He’s really ambitious, really committed and really brave.
“We discussed a lot before he made that move whether it was the right place to go and the other choices he had. He was so convinced. I’m really happy for him because he deserves what he’s getting.
“When you look at the numbers and what he is doing, it’s just incredible. It’s very rare to see that. But he’s got something special, that’s why we decided to give him a long-term contract and have faith in him and give him the long period that he needs now, because the loan he is having now is really different to the one he had before at Middlesbrough."