According to reports in The Mirror, West Ham United have joined Premier League rivals West Bromwich Albion and Watford in the race to sign Montpellier striker Steve Mounie this summer.

Irons manager Slaven Bilic is keen to strengthen his strike force with Jonathan Calleri leaving the club following the end of his season-long loan spell and continued doubts over the fitness of Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho, who spent the majority of the campaign on the sidelines because of injury.

The link with the Ligue 1 attacker follows stories that the Hammers are looking to sign Manchester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho and Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi.

While the former looks set to be on his way out of the Etihad and is understood to be keen to stay in the Premier League, the future of the Belgium international is far less certain.

Here are three reasons West Ham should sign Mounie instead of Batshuayi…

He offers something different

Football Soccer - Montpellier v Paris St Germain - French Ligue 1 - Mosson stadium, Marseille, France 03/12/2016 -  Montpellier's Steve Mounie reacts after missing a scoring opportunity against Paris St Germain. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier

If West Ham were to sign Iheanacho from City this summer there would be a few arguing that they then wouldn’t need to sign Batshuayi as well.

Irons manager Slaven Bilic often plays with just the one striker in his preferred formation and with the duo both being poachers rather than all-round strikers, it would probably be better to have a different option for some matches.

Standing at 6’3” tall, Mounie would certainly add height and strength in the air and would allow the side to play a different style, but he is also able to find the net on a regular basis after scoring 14 times in 35 Ligue 1 appearances this season.

He can finally replace Carroll

There is little doubt that the style the Irons play when Carroll is on the pitch has proved to be particularly effective in recent seasons – although perhaps less so at the London Stadium – but they rarely get to do it on a regular basis because of his poor injury record.

That is where Mounie can make a difference as he is of a similar stature to the 28-year-old, and he won an impressive 282 aerial duels for Montpellier in Ligue 1 as they narrowly avoided the drop this season.

He would be cheaper

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If Batshuayi is allowed to leave Chelsea on a permanent basis this summer then there is no doubt that they will look to recoup most of the £33m they spent to bring him to England last year despite his lack of minutes on the pitch.

That could prove to be an expensive buy for the Irons – especially if they complete a £20m deal for Iheanacho – and Mounie would certainly be a cheaper option for the Irons as he is reportedly available for around £13m.

Do you agree, Irons fans? Let us know below.