West Ham United have been linked to a new striker this week and it's a player that has haunted east London before...

What's the word?

According to Italian transfer expert Ciro Venerato (via Arena Napoli), the Irons are one of the teams interested in veteran Napoli forward Fernando Llorente this summer.

It's claimed that Carlo Ancelotti is also keen to bring him back to the Premier League having been the man to bring him to the Serie A outfit last summer.

The 6 foot 4 colossus is seemingly free to leave the Stadio San Paolo, although it remains to be seen how much he could cost with Transfermarkt valuing him at just under £3m.

Past it now

Llorente is a player that many at the London Stadium will know well as the Spaniard enjoyed three seasons in the Premier League from 2016 to 2019, playing for both Swansea City and Tottenham Hotspur.

During a League Cup tie with the Irons in 2018, the 35-year-old caused Manuel Pellegrini's Hammers side all sorts of problems, scoring in a 3-1 victory.

David Moyes' current defensive pairing Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop struggled to cope with his physical presence - Llorente won 60% of his duels whilst the Frenchman committed one foul and had to put in one last-ditch tackle, per SofaScore.

However, he could potentially be another expensive flop with him reportedly on over €60k-per-week (£54k-per-week) at Napoli.

In the past, Llorente has caused mixed reaction in the press - Frank Lampard once said in 2017 that there was a "sluggishness" about him and "sloppy" whilst Irons legend Trevor Sinclair believes his hold up play is "superb" and that he's a "great plan B".

It's unlikely that a 35-year-old is going to come into United and outscore Sebastien Haller despite only scoring seven times last season, therefore, Moyes should steer well clear of this move.

AND in other news, West Ham make PL regular their number ONE target...