West Ham boss David Moyes is eyeing a reunion with one of his former stars, according to emerging reports this week...

What's the word?

90min claim that the Scotsman is interested in bringing Ross Barkley to the London Stadium, should he not be able to secure a return for loan sensation Jesse Lingard.

The 27-year-old midfielder is one of several players who have been told they can leave Chelsea this window.

Signing the Manchester United ace permanently remains a priority in East London but their chances of securing him are diminishing by the week, so a move for Barkley could come to fruition much sooner than expected.

Must steer clear

However, Moyes risks undoing his good work at the club as Barkley is not fit to fill Lingard's attacking midfield void.

The 28-year-old provided nine goals and five assists following his arrival in January and his form resulted in him being graded as the Hammers' second highest-rated player for the whole season.

Meanwhile, Barkley struggled to keep up consistency during a loan spell with Aston Villa, who the Irons were rivalling for a place in Europe at one point.

As per Transfermarkt, the £18m-rated dynamo delivered only one goal and three assists,  with three of those four goal contributions coming before mid-November, meaning he went 18 games with just one goal to his name.

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In fact, The Athletic's Villa reporter Gregg Evans went as far as deeming him a "liability" on the '1874' podcast.

"He doesn’t do enough for me now. I’ve seen enough of Ross Barkley now to realise that he’s becoming a bit of a liability for Villa. He’s not helping out enough as he should, really. Whether that’s impacting on John McGinn, I don’t know."

If Moyes were to turn his attentions to the player he gave a professional debut to at Goodison Park, then he risks ruining the project he's building at the London Stadium.

The 58-year-old has transformed West Ham from relegation candidates, avoiding the drop with one game to spare in 2019/20, to qualifying for the Europa League.

He's done so through shrewd acquisitions like Lingard, Tomas Soucek, Said Benrahma and Vladimir Coufal and not by bringing washed-up stars like Barkley to the club.

The 33-time England international has failed to provide a double-figure campaign, in terms of goals and assists combined, since the 2016/17 campaign. At least Lingard had delivered in the few seasons building up to his absence last year.

Moyes must avoid making a move for the £100k-per-week Chelsea flop this summer.

AND in other news, Moyes could sign West Ham's next Payet in swoop for £13.5m-rated "special talent"...