Manchester City full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko is not the answer to West Ham United’s woes, after David Moyes’ side were linked with a January move following Arthur Masuaku’s career-saving knee surgery.

What’s the word?

According to ExWHUemployee, while speaking on the West Ham Way podcast, the Irons will be in the market for a new left-sided defender in January and are considering Zinchenko as a potential option.

Moyes has lost Masuaku for the foreseeable future after the in-form DR Congo international underwent surgery to solve an issue in his knee that had caused the 27-year-old pain for almost two years.

Masuaku had started in all 10 of his Premier League appearances for the season after Moyes altered his system to a five-man defence, but the manager has been forced to revert back to a 4-2-3-1 with Aaron Cresswell fielded on the left-side in West Ham’s last two fixtures.

Zinchenko, who Pep Guardiola describes as an “incredible” talent, has also been linked with a potential move to Wolverhampton Wanderers after the Molineux natives failed with a £19million approach during the summer.

The Midlands outfit are believed to see the 24-year-old’s limited game time as their route in, with Zinchenko playing just 12 minutes in the top-flight thus far this term, though he did start in three of his four Champions League Group Stage outings.

Should West Ham sign him?

West Ham would seemingly face a fight from Guardiola if David Sullivan were to sanction a swoop for Zinchenko, as the Citizens boss responded to speculation of a move to FC Barcelona in October by stating categorically that the £20,000-per-week defender would not be leaving the Etihad Stadium anytime soon.

The benefits of West Ham moving for Zinchenko have to be questioned, as well, despite their need for a new left-back with Cresswell proving against Crystal Palace that he is not going to be Moyes’ long-term answer with an underwhelming performance.

Masuaku’s loss was a “big blow” for the Hammers, in the eyes of former England international Danny Mills, yet Moyes will not find his solution in Zinchenko, who some Man City supporters are urging their club to sell.

In his Champions League outings this term, where Zinchenko has played 260 minutes to date, the 35-cap Ukraine international has only averaged 0.8 successful tackles and 1.3 clearances a game with zero interceptions, while delivering a mere 0.5 accurate crosses with a 12% success rate, per SofaScore.

He could not deliver much over his 19 Premier League appearances last season, either, with 0.7 accurate crosses with a 25% success rate, plus 1.6 tackles, 1.0 clearances and 0.9 interceptions.

Masuaku had been averaging 1.1 accurate crosses with a 30% success rate alongside 0.9 key balls, 1.7 tackles, 0.5 interceptions and 1.3 clearances in the top-flight this term before his injury, and Moyes would see a regression in the position with the addition of Zinchenko.

AND in other news, David Sullivan can land David Moyes his next Declan Rice in a £5.5m teen brute West Ham are tracking.