West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Naby Keita to the London Stadium.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by Transfer Market Web, who claim that David Moyes' side have now joined the race to sign the Liverpool central midfielder this summer, with Barcelona, Bayern Munich, AC Milan and AS Roma all also believed to hold an interest in the 26-year-old.

The report goes on to state that Jurgen Klopp's side could be willing to part with the Guinea international at the end of the current campaign as the former RB Leipzig man has failed to cement a regular starting spot in the Reds' first team, with a figure in the region of €30m (£25m) believed to be enough to get a deal over the line.

Imagine him & Rice

While Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek are undoubtedly two fantastic options in the middle of the park, the further addition of a player of Keita's ability would certainly help to take West Ham to the next level.

While it is true that the £27m-rated man has been a bit-part player for Liverpool since his £54m move to Anfield back in 2018, the 26-year-old has nevertheless proven that he has the talent to play a starring role in Moyes' side.

Indeed, over his 11 Premier League appearances so far this season - only six of which have come as starts - the £120k-per-week midfielder has scored two goals, registered one assist and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.4 shots and making 0.6 key passes per game.

Keita has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 0.7 interceptions, 2.5 tackles, 25.8 passes and winning 3.5 duels per game.

These returns have seen the Guinean average a rather remarkable SofaScore match rating of 7.21, ranking him as Klopp's seventh-best performer in the top flight of English football in the current campaign.

As such, it is not difficult to understand why the midfielder's teammate, Virgil van Dijk, took the time to shower Keita with praise, with the centre-back stating: "Naby is a fantastic guy, he works so hard and he is an outstanding football player.

"I think he is world-class if I'm absolutely honest. I see all the moments when he has the ball, the smart moves, the smart intelligence. It's just incredible to see and I'm very happy for him."

So, should West Ham indeed have the opportunity to land the 26-year-old this summer, it would appear highly advisable for the West Ham board to give Liverpool whatever it takes to land the midfielder, as, alongside Rice, Keita could help to transform the Hammers into a regular top-four contender in the years to come.

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