West Ham United are eying the perfect Deadline Day deal to reinforce David Moyes’ defence with a swoop on the cards for Queens Park Rangers full-back Ryan Manning.

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Mirror (print edition, 5/10, p. 42), the Irons are hopeful of securing a late deal for Manning to move to the London Stadium with a bid worth around £5million on the table.

Moyes is understood to have kept regular tabs on the 24-year-old’s situation at The Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium this summer in his search for a new left-sided defender, having scouted Manning throughout the 2019/20 season.

Manning was one of the stars of QPR’s backline last term with five goals and seven assists across all competitions, but has found himself frozen out in the new campaign under boss Mark Warburton who is yet to include the Republic of Ireland international in any of his league squads.

Minutes were available in the R’s Carabao Cup First Round defeat to Plymouth Argyle last month, when Manning played the full 90 minutes and scored his side’s first of the night with a header inside the second minute.

West Ham do not need to rush negotiations with QPR or Manning’s representatives in order to get a deal across the line, with the window for clubs to secure transfers between Premier League and EFL sides remaining open until October 16.

Manning: Moyes’ marauding menace

While Arthur Masuaku has started the 2020/21 Premier League campaign on the front foot with a WhoScored average match rating of 7.42 thanks to five key passes and eight successful dribbles, the 26-year-old remains a problem defensively for West Ham having only won three of his 14 attempted tackles.

Manning may, therefore, be the perfect marauding menace Moyes is after, having won on average 2.0 tackles a game in the Championship last season, on top of 1.7 clearances, 1.4 interceptions, 1.7 accurate crosses and 6.6 duels won alongside four goals and seven assists, per SofaScore.

He also played on average 1.9 key ball a game from 33.1 accurate passes over his 41 appearances, which led to 12 big chances being created – more than any West Ham player managed in the 2019/20 Premier League, with Michail Antonio’s seven the most in east London.

AND in other news, West Ham United are considering a late move to sign a Premier League player who recorded just 0.8 key balls a game in 2019/20.