West Ham backed to seal Terem Moffi deal after source's £20m bid update - expert
Noel Whelan has claimed West Ham could give themselves a "great chance" at ensuring Premier League survival by signing Terem Moffi this month.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, suggested the 23-year-old could play alongside big-money summer acquisition Gianluca Scamacca in a two-man strike force.
Sources told this site on Friday (13 January) that Newcastle scouts watched Lorient striker Moffi in action against Monaco on Wednesday - alongside representatives from Everton, Aston Villa, West Ham, Leicester City, Southampton and Bournemouth.
Football Insider understands the French club have already rejected a £20million bid from the Saints for the hitman as the race for his signature hots up.
Moffi notched his 11th Ligue 1 goal of the season against Monaco, making him the joint-second top scorer in the division - behind Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe.
The seven-cap Nigeria international is under contract at Lorient until June 2024.
West Ham sit 17th in the Premier League despite their lavish summer spending - which included a reported £35.5million outlay on Scamacca.
Whelan told Football Insider’s Ewan Kingsbury: “Scamacca is someone who needs to be playing week-in, week-out.
“He’s a goalscorer, I saw that at Leeds – but he needs that consistent playing time.
“Moyes has been chopping and changing far too much in that forward line, no one has had a long string of games.
“But firepower wins you football matches, and West Ham might benefit from switching to a two-man strike force. Having three good options in attack is never a bad thing.
“If West Ham can get someone like Moffi in January at a decent price, then it gives them a great chance of steering clear of that drop zone.
“It’s going to be a rough ride for everyone down there. There are about seven teams who could be dragged into it.”