Kurt Zouma may not be the only player West Ham United sign from down the river...

What's the word?

According to the ever-reliable ExWHUemployee, the Irons could explore a move for his Chelsea teammate Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Earlier this month, The Sun's Alan Nixon reported that the Champions of Europe were looking to send the 25-year-old out on loan once again this season to try and get his career back on track.

He has quickly slipped down the pecking order under Thomas Tuchel at Stamford Bridge. He spent time on loan to relegated Fulham last season and has been capped ten times by England.

Strength in depth

Hammers boss David Moyes must actually consider a move for the 6 foot 3 colossus as he would add some much-needed depth to his threadbare engine room.

If Declan Rice or Tomas Soucek were to get injured this season, it could be disastrous as the club will be competing in the Europa League. Their back-up is the retiring Mark Noble and that's it.

Signing a player of Loftus-Cheek's calibre on loan, for nothing, would be a wise and shrewd call from the 58-year-old manager.

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It's easy to forget that the £16.2m-rated beast bagged ten goals and provided five assists from midfield during the 2018/19 season, playing a big part in Chelsea's Europa League run that year.

Such experience in Europe would be another beneficial factor behind signing him. He and Rice could be a solid unit in the heart of the pitch, especially given past comments on the Englishman.

BT Sport pundit Owen Hargreaves once hailed Loftus-Cheek as an "unstoppable force" following a hat-trick against BATE Borisov, whilst his manager at Fulham Scott Parker described him as "unplayable" back in February this year.

The Chelsea outcast is a player capable of bringing the ball out from midfield, having averaged 1.3 dribbles and 1.2 shots per game, via WhoScored, for the struggling Cottagers last term.

Loftus-Cheek is thought to be earning only £60k-per-week in west London, so the club wouldn't need to put a sizeable investment into a loan move. It would effectively be pretty low risk and in turn, Moyes would be getting a much-needed and vastly-experienced option in midfield.

AND in other news, talkSPORT drop huge West Ham transfer claim...