West Ham considering loan-to-buy approach for 'very experienced' Premier League attacker

West ham are said to be working on an attacking deal as they look to replace Mohammed Kudus. The Hammers’ summer transfer window did not get off to an ideal start, with one of their best and most dangerous attackers leaving for London rivals Tottenham, albeit on a sizable fee.

Graham potter already had a big job ahead of him this summer as he looks to put his own stamp on the squad he struggled to get a tune out of in his first few months in charge.

A strong start of the season will be required as Potter looks to convince, but recruitment is going to be pivotal to that. Kyle Walker-Peters has been snapped up on a free transfer, but the Iron are pretty much where they started the window minus Kudus, which is not a good equation.

That doesn’t mean they are not working on new deals, though, and according to Jack Rosser of The Sun, the Iron are currently pushing for a deal to sign Harvey Elliott. The report claims the Hammers could pursue a loan deal with an option to buy amid a reported valuation of around £40million.

West Ham should have the money to pull off a permanent move, especially with the Kudus deal, but they must tread carefully given they have a number of other areas they need to strengthen, and they will have to balance spending after splashing plenty of cash last summer.

Elliott struggled for regular game time in a very competitive Liverpool side last season, and asked back in May about the situation, Reds boss Arne Slot said: “It is always a difficult decision not to start Harvey, not to start Wata (Wataru Endo), not to start all the other ones I don't play.

"But if someone comes in for five minutes, touches his first ball and scores a goal and then you change your whole idea about all the line-ups you made before, that would be a bit out of line - a bit weird as well. He got 45 minutes today because he did so well in Paris. But there's also a reason why I played so many times the other ones and all the time they deserved that trust. But today, if I could do it one more time over, I would have started it differently than I started today...but you don't know this in advance."

What Elliott has said

Asked about his lack of playing time in the season just gone, the attacker said: “I've played nearly 150 games for Liverpool and I feel like I'm very experienced in terms of that aspect. There are moments within the season where I am getting angry and frustrated because I want to play but at the same time I need to respect the situation. I need to respect the manager's decisions. Some games I'm needed, some games I'm not - that's just how football is. That's why I feel like we're in the position we are in this season because of his decisions."

He added: “As a player you always need to stay composed. Football is full of ups and downs. You can go periods of time without playing - it's just about staying motivated and mentally right in the head. Moments like [Paris Saint Germain] keep me motivated and the hunger is still within me to go out and show what I can do.”

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