West Ham United have been tipped to move for Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino recently, and the Brazilian could prove to be David Moyes' own version of Sadio Mane at the London Stadium.

Speaking recently on talkSPORT, Alex Crook suggested that the 31-year-old could leave Anfield either this month or in the summer, following Jurgen Klopp's additions of Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez over the past few months.

The journalist said: “I could see Firmino leaving, certainly in the summer, if not this month. I think there will be clubs looking at Firmino maybe West Ham, who need firepower."

The Hammers have struggled for goals throughout the season so far and are currently languishing in 17th place in the Premier League table, with Moyes a man under serious pressure after seemingly undoing all of the good work seen at the London Stadium across the last couple of years.

No player in the Irons' squad has yet managed more than three goals in the current top-flight campaign, with the likes of Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio failing to live up to their performances from last season, while Gianluca Scamacca has also struggled to have much of an impact since his summer arrival from Sassuolo.

Therefore, it is easy to see why they might be interested in a player such as Firmino, who contributed seven goals and three assists in the first half of the season for Liverpool, despite the Reds' underwhelming start to the Premier League season.

Should West Ham sporting director Mark Noble complete a move for the Brazilian this month, he could prove to be Moyes' own version of Bayern Munich star Sadio Mane, who has taken on a similarly central role since his move to the Bundesliga in the summer.

According to FBref, the Senegal star is the second-most similar player to Firmino when compared with other forwards across Europe's top leagues.

The former Liverpool team-mates have registered extremely similar statistics this season with regard to non-penalty expected goals (both 4.2), expected goals and assists per 90 (0.58 vs 0.57) and passes which have led to a shot (both 29).

This emphasises that both players can be extremely dangerous in the final third in terms of both scoring and creating goals, which is exactly the sort of profile player that Moyes needs as he looks to drag the Hammers away from the relegation zone.

Jamie Redknapp was full of praise for Firmino last season, describing him as the "perfect team player", and this ability and attitude would surely be huge for Moyes if he could convince the 31-year-old to swap Liverpool for east London this month.

Given Mane's reputation in both the Premier League and the Bundesliga, and his FBref comparison to Firmino, this suggests that West Ham should be doing all that they can to sign the former Hoffenheim star in the January transfer window.