West Ham have been heavily linked with a move for Atalanta star Ruslan Malinovskyi recently and the Ukrainian could be similar to an £86m talent.

Italian news outlet Calcio Mercato claimed earlier this month that the attacking midfielder is preparing to leave the Serie A side with a host of clubs having already made contact over his availability.

As well as the Hammers, Olympique Marseille, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur are also credited with an interest, with the Italian club expected to demand an offer of at least €30m (£26m) to prise him away from the Gewiss Stadium.

West Ham already spent big on an attacking midfielder in the summer, with Lucas Paqueta joining the club in a club-record deal worth £51m, but the Brazilian has struggled to have too much of an impact in his limited appearances thus far.

The former Lyon man boasts no goals and just two assists in 12 appearances in all competitions for the Hammers, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see Moyes bring in another creative option in January.

WhoScored suggests that Malinovskyi, who earns £21k-per-week at Atalanta, excels at dribbling, key passes, long shots and set pieces, so it certainly seems as if he could add some creativity into West Ham's ailing attack.

FBRef also shows that the "stunning" Ukraine international - in the words of journalist Josh Bunting - scores above the 90th percentile when compared to other attacking midfielders across Europe in shots, expected assists, shot-creating actions and progressive passes, which emphasises his ability to create moments out of nothing.

The website also suggests that the most similar player to Malinovskyi is Bayern Munich star Kingsley Coman, who was valued at £86m according to Sky Germany (via Metro), by the Bundesliga champions when Premier League sides came knocking in the summer of 2021.

The Frenchman has won multiple titles and the Champions League in his short career and has 50 goals and 61 assists in 246 appearances for Die Roten, so he is certainly not a bad player to be compared with.

This season has seen the two players register extremely similar statistics with regard to goals per shot (both 0.07), goals per 90 (0.18 vs 0.17), passes received (274 vs 275) and expected assists (two vs 0.9).

Therefore, it is clear that both players can be influential in the final third and play in a similar way, so if West Ham are looking to turn their poor start to the season around, GSB should look to bring in a player similar to the mega-money Coman in Malinovskyi.

Considering the exposure gained in the Premier League, there is an argument to suggest that if the Atalanta man furthers his game even more, he could be worth a similar amount in the future.