West Ham United have endured a tough transfer window in their search for upgrades, seemingly now struggling financially after their huge expenditure in the summer.

The two deals they have completed combine for a total of just £15m, with Danny Ings having already suffered an injury despite playing just 18 minutes of football for the Hammers.

Having added eight new faces to the squad that summer, their current underperformance has seen David Moyes' role questioned as well as his transfer policy, with many of the new recruits struggling to acclimatise to the Premier League.

One that has disappointed in particular is Lucas Paqueta, with the Brazilian being the crowning jewel of their summer spending as he commanded a club record fee.

However, with just one goal and three assists across 20 appearances in all competitions, it seems he is still waiting for his career to truly begin in east London.

A method that Moyes could employ is to buy him some real competition for the role, in the hope that it can spur the 25-year-old to recapture his 11-goal and seven-assist form from his final year with Lyon.

This could give credence to the recent reports linking the Irons with a move for wantaway AS Roma midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo, who has earned widespread attention after Jose Mourinho confirmed he had asked to leave.

Reportedly available for a fee of around €30m (£26m), it would mark another large expenditure but a necessary one if either he or Paqueta start to perform because of the deal.

The Italian has garnered huge praise over the years for his mature performances despite his youth, and now at 23 years old, he will hope to start converting that into tangible and consistent performances at the top level.

His exploits last season were a mere flash of the brilliance he could offer a club, as he scored eight times and assisted a further nine as his club won their first-ever European trophy. His eight goal contributions in the Europa Conference League were imperative in their historic run.

What suggests that this deal would make sense is the flexibility of Zaniolo, and should he do his job in sparking Paqueta into action, Moyes could then employ him in a similar role to the one he affords Pablo Fornals.

Drifting in from the left wing and interchanging with the front four, he could finally start converting his 3.71 total shots per 90, which has seen him ranked in the top 4% when compared to other attacking midfielders across Europe, into more goals.

To further cement him as a surefire success is the likeness offered to him back in 2018 by former coach Stefano Vecchi, who once claimed:

"He will go places. He has the characteristics to become a modern mezzala. He's a [Steven] Gerrard, [Frank] Lampard-type player."

This high praise, combined with his impressive numbers and the potential impact he could have on those he would be joining should be enough to tempt Moyes into another big-money deal.