West Ham United return to Premier League action this afternoon against Everton at Goodison Park, with manager David Moyes set to return to the club at which he previously spent 11 years in charge.

That reunion isn't the only issue of note ahead of that trip to Merseyside, however, with the Hammers also set to come up against a player who had come close to joining the club earlier this summer, in the form of Amadou Onana.

The east Londoners are believed to have made multiple offers in an attempt to land the promising 21-year-old in the recent window, eventually agreeing on a fee of around £33.5m with Ligue 1 side Lille for his signature.

As it proved, however, personal terms ultimately posed an issue as the Belgium international's move to the London Stadium subsequently collapsed, with the towering midfielder opting to link up with Frank Lampard and the Toffees instead on a £33m deal.

That failure to get the 6 foot 4 powerhouse through the door could well come back to haunt Moyes and co when the two sides meet later today, with the one-cap gem having already made an impressive start to life in the Premier League.

The highly-rated "colossus" - as dubbed by journalist Christopher Beesley - notably caught the eye in the recent derby draw with bitter rivals Liverpool, having registered the most tackles (7) and recorded the most ground duels won (8) among any player for either side on the day.

Such a performance in a game of huge magnitude has illustrated just what a talent the £27m-rated man is, with it no surprise that Moyes has only recently admitted that Onana was a player that the Irons "liked" over the summer.

The Senegal-born star's form both in his embryonic career in England and during his time in France has seen him emerge as one of the most promising players in his position in Europe, as he notably ranks in the top 4% for tackles made among his peers in the continent's big five leagues.

An imposing and powerful presence in the centre of the park, the youngster has already averaged 2.8 tackles per game from his five top-flight outings so far this term, with that a better record than that of Tomas Soucek (2.3) and only marginally behind that of Hammers skipper Declan Rice (3.0).

That pairing - or whoever starts against Lampard's side - are likely to be in for a real tough afternoon against the former Hamburg man, with the sparkling prospect potentially set to come back to haunt West Ham after having been so close to joining them.