West Ham have potentially been handed a boost in their pursuit of Chelsea forward Tammy Abraham...

What's the talk?

According to The Athletic, Aston Villa are not actively pursuing a deal for the striker as they are wary about spending a club-record fee on a striker for a third season running, following their deals for Wesley and Ollie Watkins in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Chelsea are demanding £40m for Abraham's services as Thomas Tuchel looks set to axe the Englishman from his squad.

This could provide a boost to West Ham as they are reportedly eyeing up a swoop for the former Swansea loanee to bolster their attacking options ahead of next season.

Moyes would love him

David Moyes would surely love to have Abraham at the London Stadium, and that is why this latest update could be a boost for the club. Villa are now seemingly out of the running for his signature due to his price tag, but it remains to be seen if the Hammers are willing to part ways with £40m for the England international.

Whilst the Midlands club may not be able to sanction such a fee for another striker, it is an area in which West Ham have struggled to recruit. Michail Antonio has hit 10 goals in each of the last two Premier League seasons, but he has been restricted to just 43 top-flight starts in that time. Sebastien Haller found the back of the net just three times in 16 league games before his January departure, further highlighting the need for a new centre-forward at the London Stadium.

Former Villa boss Alex McLeish hailed Abraham as a “phenomenal” player earlier this year and suggested that he could be a great addition to West Ham's squad, telling Football Insider: "There’s always a style of play or a system that can suit your strengths. West Ham would be that kind of team, I would think, for a phenomenal player like Tammy Abraham.

“Antonio has been magnificent for West Ham. For Abraham to go somewhere like that, they’d be quite a big team, with guys like Soucek. He’s had a phenomenal season, great bit of recruitment by Moyes.

“The thing is these kids have come through the under-21s, they have gone on loan, they’ve done their bit to try and get into the first team."

The £57.6k-per-week beast scored 12 goals in 18 starts for Chelsea across all competitions last season. This was after he managed an impressive 15 Premier League goals in 25 starts under Frank Lampard the previous campaign, whilst also scoring three times in seven Champions League starts in 2019/20.

Therefore, he is a proven scorer at the top level, and Moyes could love him at West Ham as he has shown that he has the quality to score goals consistently. He could come in and be the starting number nine potentially capable of scoring 15-20 goals a season, with Antonio then able to play out wide or as cover for Abraham up front.

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