West Ham United could land themselves an ideal heir to Mark Noble for nothing this summer...

What's the word?

According to Sport1, the Irons are interested in signing Maccabi Tel Aviv midfielder Dor Peretz, who is out of contract at the end of the current season.

However, it is claimed that the Premier League side face stiff competition from Russian giants CSKA Moscow and that they are leading the race to secure his signature, having offered him a €1m-per-year (£865k) deal.

The Israeli outfit still have a few matches to play in their season, so no decision on his future is expected anytime soon.

Noble heir?

The Hammers' club captain is due to play one final season next term after he confirmed back in March that he would be bringing the curtain down on an 18-year career in East London.

Whilst the 33-year-old has been restricted to a lack of game time on the pitch, featuring in only 704 minutes this league campaign, his presence off it is still of huge importance.

'He is still one of the leaders in the dressing room and is a helpful conduit between the owners and the squad,' wrote The Athletic's Roshane Thomas earlier in the year.

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This sort of void is really irreplaceable but David Moyes could help himself and the club by finding a viable replacement, and perhaps he has done exactly that with the Maccabi vice-captain.

The 26-year-old is primarily a defensive midfielder but has chipped in with plenty of goals, finding the net ten times in all competitions this term. On top of providing nine assists, as per Transfermarkt.

Peretz has also played a whopping 50 matches, both domestically and in Europe, proving to be the sort of player that you can trust to not get injured and always be fit and firing - something that Noble has been for a long part of his career.

Furthermore, the 6 foot 1 powerhouse has picked up 20 caps for Israel, which makes him an even more attractive prospect as he's available for nothing.

His former national team boss Andi Herzog has tipped him for big things in the past, too - speaking to Walla! he claimed the Maccabi star "belongs at the top" as he can play either the no.6 or no.8 role.

He also suggested that had Peretz been playing in the Bundesliga, then he'd be "worth €20m (£18m)."

The Hammers have had success with Israeli players before; Yossi Benayoun and Eyal Berkovic, to name just two.

Whilst it'll take an impressive character to take the place of Noble, it would be a low-risk move to take a punt on the 26-year-old this summer.

AND in other news, Soucek 2.0: Moyes can deliver West Ham another bargain in £14m gem who "can do it all"...