West Ham kicked off their January dealings in style as Manuel Pellegrini was reunited with former Manchester City colleague Samir Nasri - who became a Hammer on the day that his doping ban ended - but, with a slew of injuries to key midfielders, the east London outfit must not stop there and get their transfer window business done and dusted early with the signing of Besiktas' Gary Medel.

What's the word?

Well, Turkish media outlet Milliyet have reported that Chilean Pellegrini is keen on a move for the 31-year-old and that a deal is close to being agreed, with Besiktas set to green-light the transfer soon.

Milliyet also add that the switch would take place for a fee of around £6.5m - the Super Lig outfit are struggling financially and are willing to let the key man go in order to ease the pressure.

With Carlos Sanchez, Jack Wilshere and Ryan Fredericks - to name but a few - sidelined through injury, signing Medel could be an extremely shrewd bit of business and one that gives West Ham further options in both defence and midfield.

Second chance

Having played for Cardiff in 2013/14, the versatile enforcer has already had a taste of Premier League football, albeit ill-fated as he could do nothing to stop his side from being relegated to the Championship - he was subsequently pinched by Inter Milan, where he plied his trade for three years before upping sticks to Besiktas in 2017.

The diminutive hard-man is a force to be reckoned with at right-back or at the base of midfield and can bring a wealth of experience to the Irons' ranks - he has been playing in the Europa League this season, where he completes an impressive 3.8 tackles and 2.4 interceptions per game on average.

Given his numbers and the small sum being mentioned in exchange for his services, we think the tough-tackler would be an ideal number 6 but what do you think, West Ham fans? Would you like to see Medel follow Samir Nasri to the London Stadium in the coming weeks or do you think there are better options? Let us know by voting in the poll below...

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