West Ham United are reported to be "above all" interested English sides in the race to sign a £22 million player compared to Phil Foden.

Steidten's success at West Ham

New technical director Tim Steidten is apparently growing in influence at the London Stadium. Indeed, the German transfer chief played a heavy hand in moves for summer signings James Ward-Prowse, Edson Alvarez and Mohammed Kudus – who have all proved pretty successful so far. Ward-Prowse's ruthless right-footed delivery is looking like a very useful asset for manager David Moyes, with the Englishman providing five assists in the Premier League alone this season.

Alvarez has been showered with praise for some of his performances in Claret and Blue as well, with Kudus also starting to showcase his undoubted quality at West Ham.

Steidten's identifies new West Ham targets

Now, the focus for Steidten is believed to be on signing a new striker. Moyes is desperately short of quality with just Michail Antonio coming as his favoured senior option. Danny Ings has played just 68 minutes of league action this season, and the signs suggest West Ham's manager isn't exactly his biggest fan.

This has led to reports that the east Londoners are targeting a new forward, with Bayer Leverkusen's Adam Hlozek, a player Steidten knows well from his time at the club, among West Ham's new striker options.

A new right-back is also on West Ham's agenda heading into January, amid the uncertainty surrounding Coufal's future in east London. Meanwhile, a report out of Italy has now suggested that Irons supporters may have to keep a watchful eye on the possible new addition of a midfielder.

West Ham "above all" English sides for Zielinski

According to Spazio Napoli, West Ham are "above all" interested English sides in the race for Napoli star Piotr Zielinski. The 29-year-old is a mainstay under Rudi Garcia but remains out of contract at the end of the season, leading to recent reports that he could cost as little as £22 million.

Zielinski is content to remain in Italy, but Serie A's champions must keep him away from the clutches of Saudi sides, Inter Milan, Juventus and West Ham by convincing the player to pen fresh terms. This hasn't happened yet, despite their willingness to do so, with the Poland international's future remaining open as things stand.

He apparently has a mega offer on the table from Saudi Arabia, but Zielinski is yet to commit anywhere. To make matters more interesting, reliable club insider ExWHUemployee once claimed that West Ham's head of recruitment Rob Newman was actually very keen on bringing him to the club in 2022.

The midfielder, who has been a regular for Napoli over many seasons, was even been compared to Man City star Phil Foden.

"Recently, I was listening to Pep Guardiola talking about Phil Foden. He said he was a genius, an outstanding talent," said former Poland boss Paulo Sousa.

"But to get to the highest world level, he needs to know when to change the pace of the game. Foden still lacks that. Piotr has it. He sees everything. He perfectly feels the space between his teammates and the opponent. He has an amazing sense of timing and pitch geometry. He can slow down or speed up the game with one pass. He is a beautiful footballer."