West Ham United are yet to make any substantial moves during this summer's transfer window but an audacious claim has been made on Sky Sports this week...

What's the word?

Speaking on Sky Sports News (16/09, 17:30 pm), Kavel Solhekol claimed the Irons had been in discussions with Lyon over a potential deal involving their striker Moussa Dembele.

It would see both Issa Diop and Sebastien Haller move in the other direction, though no fees were mentioned in the process.

Back in January, the Daily Mail reported that David Moyes had sent scouts to watch the 24-year-old in action, so the interest has always been there from the Hammers' point of view.

Manchester United have previously tried to bid £40m for the Frenchman too.

Major upgrade

With West Ham looking at centre-back targets, such as James Tarkowski and Rob Holding, they could perhaps afford to offload Issa Diop whilst the less said on Haller, the better as Moyes clearly doesn't fancy him.

Dembele, who is valued at around £36m by Transfermarkt, is a prolific goalscorer who could thrive in the one-up-top system deployed at the London Stadium.

Just think of him as a better Michail Antonio.

Last season, he bagged 24 goals in all competitions whilst averaging 2.1 shots and 2.6 aerials won per game in Ligue 1, via WhoScored.

Dembele is quick, powerful and can find the back of the net with relative ease - everything that should be the case for their club-record £45m signing.

Former manager Brendan Rodgers is a massive fan, previously stating that he's "everything with his power and pace" and that he can "create something out of nothing".

Whilst Dean Saunders believes he's a "wonderful talent" who has "clever movement".

Moyes' side only scored 49 goals in the top-flight last term, so adding a player who bagged nearly 50% all by himself would be one surefire way to improve their fortunes in front of the sticks.

AND in other news, West Ham could target £30m "monster" as a Declan Rice replacement...