Insider ExWHUemployee has revealed that West Ham United are not likely to make a move for Roberto Firmino despite his name recently being discussed in the media as a possible target.

What’s the word?

With the January transfer market now open, it seems as though every Premier League club is being linked with a host of exciting new names nearly every day.

Of course, though, that doesn't mean every story should be believed. Recently, talk has been growing regarding a possible West Ham move for Liverpool forward Firmino.

It seemed to stem from journalist Alex Crooks who mooted a possible move. Indeed, speaking to talkSPORT, (via CaughtOffside), he said he 'could see' the Brazilian leaving this winter and tipped West Ham as a possible destination.

However, while talking on The West Ham Way podcast, Ex revealed that any talk of a move was just a matter of opinion – as opposed to anything based on any inside knowledge.

He explained (10:00): “There was talk of Firmino, the Liverpool forward, potentially coming to West Ham.

"But I spoke to the journalist who broke that story, and as often happens to me, it was just an opinion rather than a fact. And so people took his opinion and turned it into fact and therefore the story got much more traction than it should have."

Don't get your hopes up

Seeing as Liverpool have just spent big to bring in new forward Cody Gakpo – who arrived from PSV for a fee between £35m and £45m – the Reds could potentially be looking to offload Firmino in the near future.

After all, as per Transfermarkt, his contract does expire in the summer and so this could be the last chance to cash in on him if he doesn't sign a new deal.

Despite all that, it sounds as though there is nothing concrete to these rumours at this stage. However, if that was to change, he could be an attractive proposition for the Hammers. Indeed, with nine goals to his name in all competitions, Firmino has a better scoring rate than the likes of Michail Antonio (five) and Gianluca Scamacca (seven).

Perhaps this could be something to explore at the end of the season but for now it seems as though any talk of genuine interest is a little premature.