West Ham United are interested in a late swoop to bring Ludovic Ajorque to the London Stadium on transfer deadline day.

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That's according to Pete O'Rourke, with the journalist revealing in a recent post on Twitter that all three of West Ham, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest are in a late race to sign the RC Strasbourg Alsace centre-forward - who is believed to be available for a figure of around £18m - over the final hours of the summer transfer window.

In his tweet, O'Rourke said: "Nottingham Forest are making a last-gasp offer for Strasbourg striker Ludovic Ajorque who is also a target for Crystal Palace and West Ham."

"Remarkable"

Considering just how deadly Ajorque was in France last season, coupled with the fact that the striker's enormous 6 foot 6 frame would add another extremely strong string to West Ham's already impressive aerial threat bow, the argument that the 28-year-old would be a remarkable late signing for David Moyes to get over the line is an easy one to make.

Indeed, the £14.4m-rated Frenchman was in sensational form over his 36 Ligue 1 fixtures in 2021/22, bagging 12 goals, providing eight assists and creating 11 big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.6 shots - 0.8 of which hit the target - making 1.3 key passes and winning 5.9 duels per game.

These metrics saw the £8k-per-week talent who Julien Stephan labelled "remarkable" average a fantastic SofaScore match rating of 7.10, not only ranking forward as Strasbourg's third-best performer in the league but also as the joint 31st-best player in the French top flight as a whole last time out.

Furthermore, according to FBref, the 28-year-old also ranks in the top 9% of forwards in Europe's big five leagues and European competitions for aerial duels won per 90, in addition to the top 18% for clearances, the top 7% for tackles and the top 19% for passes attempted over the last 365 days - proving his effectiveness in both a defensive and ball-playing capacity, alongside his evident threat in the final third.

As such, it will come as no surprise to learn that Stephan also dubbed the French giant a "complete" attacker, nor is it difficult to see why Moyes would be interested in a deal to bring the 28-year-old to the London Stadium before tonight's transfer deadline, as Ajorque would very much appear to make a remarkable addition to West Ham's current attacking options.