West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Moisés Caicedo to the London Stadium in 2023.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by the Daily Mail, who claim that David Moyes has identified the Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder as a long-term replacement for Declan Rice in central midfield - with the 23-year-old England international being heavily linked with a move away from east London at the end of the current campaign.

However, the report goes on to suggest that the Hammers are not the only Premier League club interested in the 21-year-old Brighton starlet, as Newcastle United are also believed to be keeping a very close eye on the situation of the Ecuador international - who the Seagulls are thought to value at a figure in the region of £60m.

Dream Rice heir

While it is undeniable that losing a player of Rice's ability would come as a huge blow to Moyes and his side next summer, should the 59-year-old manage to bring Caicedo in as a successor to the academy graduate, it would very much appear as if the Scot will have landed something of a dream heir to the Englishman.

Indeed, over his 14 Premier League appearances so far this season, the £33.5m-rated talent has been in sensational form, making an average of 3.1 tackles - the joint ninth-most in the league - making 1.4 interceptions and winning 6.0 duels - at a success rate of 58% - per game.

For comparison, over Rice's 15 top-flight fixtures this term, the 23-year-old has made an average of 2.4 tackles, 1.6 interceptions and has won 4.2 duels - at a success rate of 61% - per match.

Furthermore, the Brighton "wonderkid" has also impressed going forwards, having scored one goal and created one big chance for his teammates, in addition to making an average of 1.1 key passes, playing 2.2 long balls and completing 47.1 total passes - at a success rate of 87% - per fixture.

These returns have seen the £15k-per-week midfielder who Aden-Jay Wood claimed "has everything" average a rather remarkable Sofascore match rating of 7.12, not only ranking him as Roberto De Zerbi's fourth-best performer in the league but also as the 48th-best player in the top flight of English football as a whole.

Putting some of the 21-year-old's metrics into a wider context, FBref currently rank the 28-cap international in the top 16% of midfielders in Europe's big five leagues for tackles per 90, as well as the top 17% for blocks, the top 26% for interceptions, the top 27% for passes completed and the top 33% for aerials won.

As such, it would indeed appear as if Caicedo would make something of a dream heir to Rice in the heart of the Hammers' midfield, leading us to believe that Moyes simply must do everything in his power to beat Newcastle to the signing of the Brighton gem next year.