If West Ham United sign a striker this January, then there's a "strong chance" it'll be Adam Hlozek...

What's the word?

That's according to ExWHUemployee, who delivered an exciting claim ahead of the winter transfer window to his 'The West Ham Way' podcast this week.

"Daniel Kretinsky is a 40% shareholder at Sparta Prague. They’ve got a forward called Hlozek and he’s highly rated," he said.

"There is a strong chance the striker signing could be him."

A desperate need

This ties in well with recent developments around the London Stadium after Kretinsky's investment was officially confirmed by the club on Wednesday.

The 46-year-old Czech supremo, who is co-owner of Sparta Prague, purchased a minority stake of 27% in the Irons - a move that sees him have more of a say than David Gold, though David Sullivan remains the majority shareholder.

Late last month, claims from the Telegraph suggested that Kretinsky was going to propose a partnership between the east Londoners and the Czech outfit as a potential player development line, having already signed three players in Vladimir Coufal, Tomas Soucek and Alex Kral in recent times.

Adding a striker to David Moyes' squad could be the missing piece of the puzzle this season as the Scotsman only has Michail Antonio, 31, available at his disposal and his injury woes since arriving at the Hammers are no secret.

The West Ham boss needs strength in depth, particularly up front, as he has the club competing on all fronts this campaign - they sit third in the Premier League, have advanced into the Europa League knockout stages and have the Carabao and FA Cup to still to play for, too.

If Antonio faces time out, he could seriously scupper the Irons' progress, as their in-form top goalscorer is so crucial to their fortunes.

Hlozek is an intriguing and exciting young striker who could support the veteran talisman and this new relationship will certainly help smooth any dealings in January.

The 19-year-old has scored four goals and provided eight assists in 20 appearances this season, building on last season's tally of 15 goals and nine assists, where he averaged a direct contribution every 75.9 minutes, as per Transfermarkt.

Pavel Paska, who is the agent of both Hlozek and Soucek, believes his client is an "extraordinary talent" who "has everything an attacker needs" - and going by that record, its hard to disagree, so Moyes would be getting a very fine future star on his hands.

Ex's suggestion that there's a strong chance that he could sign should be a major source of encouragement for many around the London Stadium.

AND in other news, Alasdair Gold reveals exciting behind-the-scenes Antonio Conte claim...