Having failed to challenge for a place in Europe last season, West Ham United will be desperate to improve their squad and could be one of the busiest clubs in the transfer market this summer.
They have been linked with several exciting names recently and Brentford star Neal Maupay is now on their list, claim reports from Sky.
The 22-year old was excluded from the squad that played Dynamo Kyiv on Saturday owing to the uncertainty surrounding his future. The likes of Brighton, Sheffield United and Aston Villa are also interested in the striker, who is expected to cost around £20m.
West Ham will have to evaluate their needs before they can sign Maupay but here are the pros and cons of signing the former French U21 star this summer:
PROS:
With 59 Ligue1 and 85 Championship appearances to his name, Maupay is an experienced campaigner who moved to England for the first time in 2017. He has been a regular for The Bees, scoring 37 league goals over two seasons at the club.
He is an old-fashioned centre-forward, who is hard to match in the air. He is an excellent finisher and is also capable of creating chances for his side, even when he plays as a lone striker. His ability to dribble past opponents or play layoffs in and around the box make him a hard man to mark.
At just 22, he is one of the most exciting stars in the Championship at the moment and deserves a chance in the Premier League.
The Hammers have Javier Hernandez as the only option to lead the attack for them next season. They lost Marko Arnautovic and Andy Carroll this summer and will need more than one striker to make their squad competitive for the coming campaign.
This is what makes Maupay a smart buy for the Hammers. At £20m, he is not too expensive and his previous experience in England will certainly help him to make an impact in London next season, also leaving funds for the club to sign another, more established striker.
CONS:
However, Maupay is still relatively inexperienced at the highest stage and is a relative risk for a club that wants to play European football regularly.
The French forward will certainly get his chances but against the top teams in the league, he may not be able to have the kind an impact needed to win his side the game.
He is not a game-changer and unless he hits the ground running, West Ham might struggle to get their investment in the star back in a year or two.
Maupay is an exciting name but he is not the match-winner West Ham and Manuel Pellegrini are after this summer.
