West Ham United are reportedly set to submit an offer for Matheus Pereira...

What's the word?

That's according to Portuguese journalist Pedro Almeida, who delivered a fresh update on the Irons' pursuit of the West Brom playmaker to Twitter, where he revealed: "West Ham prepares an offer of around 20M€ + 2M€ bonus to present to West Brom by Matheus Pereira."

The £13.5m-rated attacking midfielder has also been linked to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, by whom he is said to be tempted thanks to the salary they are offering.

Pereira has been widely regarded as an alternative option to last season's loan star Jesse Lingard, and with the England international seemingly unlikely to return to the London Stadium, interest in the Brazilian has ramped up considerably in the past week.

Moyes needs him

As mentioned above, the Hammers have a gigantic void to fill in attacking midfield as one of the stars of 2020/21 is unlikely to be playing in the claret and blue this term.

Lingard rated out as David Moyes' second-best player, as per WhoScored figures, despite only joining the club in January. He provided nine goals and five assists, playing an integral role in the Irons qualifying for the Europa League with a sixth-place finish.

Only two other players scored more goals than the Manchester United loanee, and they had a full season to reach that number.

Pereira may have been relegated at West Brom but he was one of their shining lights and he proved that he belongs at this level by registering 11 goals and six assists in what was his maiden campaign in the Premier League.

He actually accounted for 48% of all of the Baggies' goals scored, which is hardly a surprise as the versatile 5 foot 9 dynamo averaged 2.1 key passes per 90 - a number which exceeded every player in Moyes' squad, including Lingard (1.1), Aaron Cresswell (1.6) and Said Benrahma (1.7), as per WhoScored.

The 25-year-old maestro, who earns around £30k-per-week, has previously been hailed as a "genius" with unseen technical ability as well as a "special talent", which only adds further reasoning to why Moyes may well have turned his attentions to him in recent weeks.

For around £17m, West Ham could do little wrong in securing the Baggies star in this transfer window. He may well provide that missing spark needed to challenge for a place in Europe once again.

Just imagine the damage that the ten-goal Michail Antonio could do with a player like Pereira providing the service behind him. He racked up plenty of assists without a proper striker at The Hawthorns, so he could elevate to a new level with the 31-year-old in front.

GSB must look to seal this deal before kickoff in two weeks time.

AND in other news, "Moysey would be delighted if he got him" - Exclusive: Pundit drops WHU claim on £20m-rated ace...