An update has emerged on West Ham and their pursuit of Ola Aina on deadline day of the summer transfer window.

What's the talk?

ExWHUemployee has revealed that the Hammers need to raise funds to secure a deal to sign the Torino full-back.

The club reportedly had an offer rejected for the former Chelsea man earlier in the day and Ex has stated that the player is interested in making the switch to the London Stadium.

When asked about Aina, he told WestHamZone: “Yes, very keen [on moving to West Ham] and we need to raise money.”

Vladimir Coufal upgrade

West Ham could land an upgrade on Czech Republic international Vladimir Coufal by securing a deal to sign Aina before the deadline.

The Hammers right-back has endured a difficult start to the Premier League campaign. He has averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.74. He is 10th in the squad for average ratings and has been weak in his defending - losing 52% of his individual duels - whilst only creating 0.8 chances per game.

Last term, he averaged a score of 6.77 - ranking 14th in the roster - and won 51% of his battles, along with 0.8 key passes per match.

Aina, meanwhile, has enjoyed a strong start to the Serie A season. He has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.07, winning 58% of his duels and creating one chance per appearance.

The £31k-per-week gem, who was once described by Nizaar Kinsella as being one of Chelsea's "unbelievable" young talents, averaged a score of 6.82 in the Italian top-flight in 2021/22 and won 53% of his duels.

These statistics suggest that he has the potential to perform to a higher level than Coufal week-in-week-out, whilst being stronger off the ball and offering a similar level of creativity than the Czech defender - who is five years his senior.

The Hammers would not have to worry about him adapting to the Premier League, either, as he started 31 matches for Fulham on loan in the 2020/21 campaign, which means that he has recent experience of playing in the division.

David Moyes should now be hoping that Aina's willingness to make the move happen will allow the club to bring him in before 11 pm as he could be an upgrade on his current right-back.