West Ham United closing in on transfer for Arsenal star in January amid competition for signature

As the January transfer window draws ever closer, West Ham United are looking to improve their options up front - and it seems likely that they will turn their attention to Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah. They have been heavily linked with the former Leeds United loanee and the Gunners could allow him to leave the Emirates Stadium if they are presented with an offer of £40 million.

This is according to a report from Football Insider, who also mention that fellow London clubs Crystal Palace and Brentford are also interested in a deal for the player. Currently, it is unclear as to who is leading the race for Nketiah's signature.

Arsenal are looking to bolster their squad in January - however, given their big-spending summer that saw Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice join the club, they will need to offload players to bring new ones in. As such, Nketiah could be one of the players who moves on next month.

How would signing Eddie Nketiah improve West Ham United's squad?

A powerful, pacy centre-forward, Nketiah is exactly the kind of forward that the Hammers should be looking to bring to the London Stadium in the January transfer window. He draws many comparisons to West Ham's first-choice striker, Michail Antonio - both are fast, powerful and have excellent hold-up play.

While he isn't the most prolific of goal scorers, neither is Antonio. So far this season, Antonio has netted two goals in 12 Premier League appearances, while Nketiah has scored five goals in England's top division.

David Moyes' system is heavily reliant on having a physical striker to hold up the ball and create chances for his teammates. In turn, this allows West Ham's wingers, such as Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen, to enter the opponents' box and look to score goals.