The Athletic have dropped an update regarding West Ham's pursuit of Genk striker Paul Onuachu...

What's the talk?

According to The Athletic, the Irons are one of the Premier League clubs interested in a deal to sign the 27-year-old this summer. The report claims that Watford, Arsenal and the Hammers have all looked at the attacker as a potential target ahead of next season.

Genk are demanding a fee of £20m for their top scorer and this has put Watford off as they may not have the funds to facilitate such a transfer following their promotion back to the Premier League, handing a boost to West Ham's hopes of signing him.

Fans will be buzzing

West Ham fans will surely be buzzing with this news. For starters, the update has seemingly ruled out Watford as serious contenders for his signature as they do not have the financial muscle to compete with the Hammers or Arsenal in a straight transfer shootout. This means that David Moyes could have a greater chance of being able to sign the attacker to bolster his squad.

The injury-prone Michail Antonio has been the club's top scorer in each of the past two seasons with 10 goals in the Premier League. This suggests that there is room in West Ham's squad for a prolific goalscorer to come in and be the main source of goals in the top flight, which is where Onuachu could come in useful.

Former England international John Fashanu hailed the Nigerian forward as a “goal king” earlier this year and said that he is proving to people that he is a number one option at the top end of the pitch.

He told The Punch, via Goal.com: “I remember when I said he was a great player and that he was the player that we needed and now I was right. I think everybody else has seen how football has to be understood at the right level.

“I want to tell Onuachu well done and a big congratulation because he has proved to everybody that he is still number one and indeed a goal king.

“Let’s just try to say we are not trying to prove anybody wrong but that we can have a successful team with the right players.”

This shows how highly Onuachu is regarded as a goalscorer. His record for Genk in Belgium is outstanding, with 45 goals and seven assists in 69 competitive games for the club, including 29 goals in 33 league matches during the 2020/21 campaign.

Therefore, he could be a sublime signing for the Hammers and hopefully become the potent starting striker they are currently lacking, which is why their fans would surely be buzzing to see him come through the door at the London Stadium.

AND in other news, Imagine him and Soucek: West Ham must seal swoop for £17m maestro, Moyes needs him...