David Moyes has been handed a boost in the pursuit of West Ham United target Isco, with the former Real Madrid star being surprisingly released by Sevilla after just four months at the La Liga side.

The London side were first linked with the Spaniard near the end of last season, however, he chose to end his nine-year association with the LaLiga giants to join league rivals Sevilla.

It hasn’t exactly worked out in Andalusia for the attacking midfielder, scoring just once and registering three assists, however, this shouldn’t put Moyes off and he should be seriously considering making a move for the player.

He is statistically similar to Real Madrid sensation Federico Valverde, who has had a sensational start to the season. The Uruguayan is ranked as the 4th best performer in the Madrid squad according to WhoScored this season.

According to FBref, Valverde is the second-most similar player to Isco when compared to other attacking midfielders across Europe’s top leagues.

This season has seen the two players register similar statistics when it comes to shot-creating actions per 90 (3.49 vs 3.17), assists (both two), and tackles won (nine to eight).

WhoScored suggests that both Valverde and Isco have dribbling as a key strength, while they have also registered similar statistics when it comes to key passes (1.7 vs 1.4) and dribbles (0.9 vs 0.6) this season and these numbers show just how effective Isco can be going forwards.

The 30-year-old will also bring a winning mentality to the London stadium if he joined West Ham, having won five Champions League crowns and three La Liga titles amongst a hatful of other trophies during his spell at Real Madrid.

Former international teammate Andres Iniesta described Isco as an “incredible footballer” back in 2017 and although the last few seasons haven’t exactly gone the way he anticipated, he could still prove to be an extremely useful addition to Moyes’ side in January.