West Ham United's disappointing start to their highly-anticipated Premier League season continued as they were beaten 2-1 by Bournemouth at the London Stadium on Saturday, and Manuel Pellegrini should be considering signing free agent Mathieu Flamini, who they rejected the chance to sign in 2013.

What's the word, then?

Well, following a big summer of spending and with some quality players such as Jack Wilshere and Felipe Anderson arriving in east London, it is expected that the Irons are really going to push on under the Chilean manager this season.

However, while the 4-0 defeat to Liverpool on the opening day was understandable given Jurgen Klopp's men look to be strong title contenders this term, a home loss to the Cherries would not have been expected.

One area where the Hammers are really struggling on the pitch despite their successful summer is once again in the middle of the park, where the partnership of Wilshere and Mark Noble was really shown up.

Why should Pellegrini swoop for Flamini?

West Ham are really lacking that defensively-minded midfielder that will just sit in front of the defence and sweep things up right now, and there will be concerns over whether another new boy in Carlos Sanchez is the man to do exactly that.

Flamini is a free agent following a spell with La Liga club Getafe in 2018, and while he may be 34 years of age he would certainly go some way to solving the issue – in the short-term at least – given he has shown throughout his career that he can be hugely effective in that role.

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The fact that he has played with Wilshere before is another bonus, and it is a no-brainer to bring him in now to tighten things up – should they get the nod from the FA to complete any deal.