West Ham United have been dealt a major blow in their bid to bring Piotr Zielinski to the London Stadium this summer.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by Sky Sports Italy (via Sport Witness), who claim that, despite recent reports suggesting that Rob Newman had submitted a €40m (£33.5m) bid for the Napoli midfielder, the 28-year-old has no desire whatsoever to make a move to the Premier League side ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

This claim is backed up by Napoli Today, who suggest that, although it previously appeared as if the Poland international was destined for a switch to east London this summer, David Moyes' transfer team have ultimately failed to convince him of a move to the club.

It's a blow for Moyes

Considering just how impressive Zielinski was in Italy last season, in addition to the fact that the Hammers felt strongly enough about the midfielder to submit a considerable bid for his services, the news that the 28-year-old looks set to reject the opportunity of a move to the London Stadium this summer is sure to have come as a major blow to Moyes.

Indeed, over his 35 Serie A outings in 2021/22, the £36m-rated talent was in excellent form, demonstrating the all-round qualities he could have offered to Moyes' team. He scored six goals, provided five assists and created five big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.2 shots, making 1.4 key passes and completing 0.5 dribbles per game.

These returns saw the former Udinese star average an eye-catching SofaScore match rating of 6.92, ranking him as Gli Azzurri's 13th-best performer in the top flight of Italian football last time out.

The £104k-per-week centrocampista also impressed over his seven fixtures in the Europa League last season, bagging two goals and taking an average of 1.7 shots, making 1.7 key passes and completing one dribble per match, demonstrating that he would have been an extremely useful proposition for the Hammers in continental competition this term.

These metrics saw the 28-year-old average an even more impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.03, ranking him as Luciano Spalletti's fourth-best performer in the tournament.

As such, it is clear to see just how exciting an addition Zielinski would have made to Moyes' options in the middle of the park next season, especially considering the Irons would appear to have a real chance of securing some European silverware in the Europa Conference League.

However, following the latest developments, it would now seem as if the 59-year-old West Ham boss will have to turn his focus in the remainder of the summer transfer window elsewhere, something that will undoubtedly come as a huge disappointment to the Scot.