West Ham United fell to a disappointing 3-2 defeat in a thrilling clash away at Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday as they failed to end the weekend as a top-half side.
David Moyes' team are currently sitting in 11th and have lost more matches (five) than they have won (four) after 11 top-flight outings this season. The Hammers do, however, still have European football and are second in their Europa League group, with two wins and one defeat in three matches, so far.
Whilst their Premier League form has been patchy, West Ham could use the allure of European action to tempt January targets into making the switch to the London Stadium.
West Ham transfer news – Piotr Zielinski
According to the printed edition of Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport, via Sport Witness, the Hammers are one of a number of clubs interested in signing Napoli central midfielder Piotr Zielinski.
The report has claimed that Liverpool, Juventus and Inter are also keen on the Poland international, with the two Premier League sides said to be "queuing up" to land his signature in the January transfer window.
The impressive maestro's contract in Naples is due to expire at the end of the current season, and with no signs yet of a new deal, he would be an "illustrious" free agent signing for one of the interested parties.
Of course, this means that teams outside of Italy will be able to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with the talent from January onwards. With this in mind, the reigning Serie A champions could therefore decided to cash in for a bargain fee in order to avoid losing him for nothing later in the year.
The statistics that show why West Ham are interested in Zielinski
The 29-year-old technician has been in excellent form for his current club during the 2023/24 campaign and has showcased his creative talent on a regular basis. Zielinski has created four 'big chances' and averaged 2.8 key passes per game for Napoli in the Italian top-flight across 11 appearances so far.
Meanwhile, James Ward-Prowse leads the way for West Ham in that regard with 2.3 key passes per match, and the England international is the only player in the squad with more than 1.3 per clash.
This suggests that the Polish magician has the ability to be an outstanding creative threat for the Hammers if they are able to win the race for his signature in January.
Average match rating
7.39
Goals
Two
Assists
Two
Pass accuracy
87%
His form this season is also not a flash in the pan, as he created 2.3 chances per game for his teammates throughout the 2022/23 Serie A campaign, which led to 12 'big chances'. In fact, the £108k-per-week dynamo ranks within the top 2% of his positional peers across the Men's Big Five Leagues and European competitions over the last 365 days for shot-creating actions (4.83) per 90.
This suggests that Zielinski is one of the best in his position at making things happen at the top end of the pitch, whether that is by directly assisting a teammate or putting someone in the right place to assist another player, which is why he could be an exciting addition for West Ham.