With less than two weeks to go until the end of the transfer window, West Ham United are still yet to find a new central defender.

After their win over Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon, Irons manager David Moyes reiterated his desire to bolster his backline as he told reporters, via football.london:

"I have 17-year-old centre-half Jamal [Baptiste] who I want involved in the first-team training but undoubtedly I am going to try and add to the squad.

"And I will be adding a defender and maybe other players as well but then if I don't, then I will be happy if the players perform as well as they did today."

His attempts to secure two mooted targets have proven frustrating in recent weeks.

First, the Hammers appear to have been rejected by Chelsea star Kurt Zouma, and now it seems as if Fiorentina's Nikola Milenkovic is the latest name they'll likely miss out upon.

According to 90min, the east London outfit have pulled out of the running to sign the Serbian colossus after talks with his representatives slowed down in recent weeks.

Amid these setbacks, West Ham have been linked with another option in the form of versatile Aston Villa ace Kortney Hause, and whilst he's not as big of a name as the aforementioned duo, he could well be the man to end Moyes' central defensive nightmare.

Football Insider reported earlier this week that the 26-year-old had been added to the Irons' list of transfer targets ahead of Deadline Day on August 31st.

The Englishman has fallen down the pecking order at Villa Park due to the loan arrival of Axel Tuanzebe, whilst he meets the criteria of what Moyes is reportedly seeking.

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Valued at just £4.5m by Transfermarkt, Hause could be a bargain as the former England under-21 international will undoubtedly cost a cheaper wedge than either Zouma or Milenkovic.

Despite having little game-time last season (seven league starts), the 6 foot 3 colossus excelled under Dean Smith, earning a 7.17 average WhoScored rating. This also saw him manage an average of 1.1 interceptions and 5.6 aerial duels (bettering England international Tyrone Mings) won every 90 minutes, which goes to show that he has a solid ability to read the game.

In the past Hause has been described as an "absolute beast" by The Athletic's Tim Spiers, whilst the Express & Star's Matt Maher once claimed that he had "bags of potential."

Across stints at both Villa and Wolves in the Midlands, he hasn't been able to fully display such an ability on a regular basis, which is why the Hammers could be a move he very much needs.

Overall, and on the above evidence, the 26-year-old machine - who can also play at left-back - appears to be a typical Moyes centre-back. It's time to move on from Milenkovic and Zouma.

Hause could end the Irons' transfer nightmare.

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