One of West Ham United’s transfer targets may have had his head turned by one of Europe’s elite clubs…

What’s the word?

According to Gazzetta Dello Sport, Filip Kostic is still in talks with the Hammers, who plan to have the deal completed “by the weekend”.

However, interest from Juventus has “distracted’ the Eintracht Frankfurt winger, which could stall progress in the deal.

The Turin outfit will reportedly raise their offer to compete with West Ham’s €15m (£12.6m) submission, tabling a bid of €12m (£10m) plus bonuses.

Kostic would be a big upgrade on Cresswell

After a phenomenal season for the Bundesliga club, having won the Europa League and eliminating David Moyes’ side in the process, Kostic could now be set to join West Ham and help propel them even further up the Premier League table.

However, the manager, along with club owners GSB, must act quick in order to avoid any further distractions which might delay what could be a perfect fifth summer signing for the Irons.

Featuring at left wing-back, the Serbian thrived for Eintracht Frankfurt, and he could certainly be a quality replacement for the 32-year-old Aaron Cresswell.

Marauding down the left flank in both the Bundesliga and the Europa League, he scored seven and set up an astounding 15 goals last term. He was instrumental in their campaign, earning the billing of his team's “creator”.

Moyes could well be content to replace Cresswell, who only contributed to five goals in the league and was sent off twice in the key stages of their Europa League run.

To bin off this ageing liability and replace him with the “unstoppable” Serbian dynamo who can score and create goals on a regular seems a no-brainer for Moyes.

To further outline the gulf in quality between the two left-backs, the 29-year-old flyer created 16 big chances last season compared to Cresswell’s five. Also averaging 2.8 key passes per game, it is clear that when the Serbian plays, the opposition must be constantly wary of the threat that he possesses.

Those figures would suggest that Kostic is undoubtedly a huge upgrade on West Ham's current first-choice left-back, and the Irons will surely want to get the deal done as quickly as possible or else face losing out on the pacey wing-back to Juventus.