West Ham have been linked to an array of strikers ahead of the summer transfer window, although there is one name that could be of great appeal to David Moyes...

What's the word?

Last month, TEAMtalk claimed the Irons were one of several Premier League teams monitoring Barnsley's loan sensation Daryl Dike and that the Championship outfit could struggle to keep him permanently as a £17m option-to-buy seems out of their financial reach, unless promoted.

Competition for the 20-year-old appears fierce with top-flight giants Manchester United and Chelsea among the sides interested in the Orlando City striker, as well as Everton, Leeds United, Wolves and Newcastle United.

Shades of Yakubu

Over the course of Moyes' lengthy managerial career, we've seen many different types of forward lead his line but there is often a recurring theme as he clearly likes a big, powerful presence up top - you only have to look at Michail Antonio in this current squad and perhaps most famously, Duncan Ferguson at Everton.

At 6 foot 2, Dike fits the bill as another prototype for the 58-year-old to develop into a goalscoring beast in attack. He has been in electric form since joining the Tykes in January, scoring nine Championship goals in just 17 appearances, as per Transfermarkt.

His form recently led to former Salford boss Richie Wellens heaping praise on him. He dubbed the striker a "revelation" to Football League World.

The young Orlando gem offers more than just brute force, too. American site SBNation describe him as a 'physical striker' who has a 'delicate touch and high levels of technical ability.'

[snack-amp-story url= "https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-latest-west-ham-transfer-rumours-gossip-latest-moyes-gsb-london-stadium" title= "Read the latest West Ham news, transfer rumours, gossip and more!"]

Furthermore, his former college coach George Gelnovatch waxed lyrical about his mentality on and off the pitch, he told ESPN: "One of the things about him that nobody ever talks about is relentlessness. He is a relentless competitor, a ruthless guy on the field. You put that inside a body like his, and it's pretty impressive."

This all hugely reminiscent of Yakubu, who enjoyed four lucrative seasons under Moyes at Goodison Park, where he found the net 33 times in 107 appearances.

Dike has been compared to Romelu Lukaku, a player the former Everton boss was once desperate to sign, and is also cut from the same cloth as his cousin, Emmanuel Emineke, the former Hammers loanee.

If you throw Yakubu into the mix as those two, then you'll soon see they are all a similar sort of presence upfront.

He was a natural finish and one that was capable of destroying the opposition with his pace and strength and that's exactly what Dike seems like in the Championship right now.

Whilst a step-up to the Premier League is a big ask, Moyes would surely relish having a player of that ilk at his disposal, especially when Antonio struggles to play more than 22 matches each season due to injuries.

GSB must make a move for the two-time USA international.

AND in other news, Hammers must still rue Bilic's 2015 failure to sign "big-game" beast...