West Ham manager David Moyes pulled the plug on the club's pursuit of Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic, reporter Jack Rosser has told Football FanCast.

Milenkovic became a target for West Ham after the east London outfit initially faced difficulties in trying to sign Kurt Zouma from Chelsea.

However, after agreeing a £29.8m fee with their London rivals, West Ham eventually managed to land Zouma on a four-year deal.

And Rosser has revealed that the Hammers turned back to the Frenchman after also encountering problems in their attempts to sign Milenkovic, who has since signed a new contract at the Artemio Franchi Stadium.

"When it comes to transfers, the money's there. The board have given him [Moyes] the money," the Evening Standard journalist said. "They've also given him the final say, so by the sounds of it, Milenkovic was an option they went to after Zouma.

"They tried with Zouma but it didn't come off initially, went to Milenkovic and that sort of stalled and dallied a bit, had some problems with agents and Moyes then sort of had a change of heart. He decided to pull the plug and focus everything back on Zouma, which paid off."

As he discussed Zouma in his pre-match press confrence ahead of West Ham's recent 2-2- draw with Crystal Palace, Moyes stressed the need to add a fourth centre-back to the squad, so he will undoubtedly be delighted with the addition of the France international.

The Hammers' new signing arrives with plenty of top-flight experience and an impressive honours list having won both the Premier League and Champions League during his time at Stamford Bridge.