West Ham United are still yet to reinvest Declan Rice's transfer fee back into their squad, but that may soon be about to change amid speculation they are interested in Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah.
What players have West Ham bought?
It has now been two-and-a-half weeks since Rice joined Arsenal for a fee in excess of £100m – and a good few months since the speculation first emerged – yet West Ham have still yet to make any signings this summer.
Ajax's Edson Alvarez, Juventus' Denis Zakaria and Monaco's Youssouf Fofana are all rumoured to be high on David Moyes' wishlist in terms of a new central midfielder.
The Europa Conference League winners could also do with strengthening in other positions, and links with Chelsea's centre-back Chalobah should get United supporters excited.
Chalobah has not quite made the cut at Stamford Bridge, but the former England U21 international – who is on £50,000 a week, according to Capology – could thrive if granted a move to another Premier League club.
The Guardian now reports that Moyes has added Chalobah to his shortlist of right-sided centre-back options, though the Irons may face competition from Serie A heavyweights Inter Milan.
How old is Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah?
Chalobah has been with Chelsea since the age of eight and has made 63 first-team appearances, either side of loan spells with Ipswich Town, Huddersfield Town and Lorient.
The Englishman was described as an "unbelievable" talent by former Chelsea player Paul Canoville when first making the breakthrough, but now aged 24, it may be that Chalobah has to move elsewhere if he is to start week in, week out.
That is not to say Chalobah did not get chances last season, as he started 18 Premier League games for Chelsea and appeared a further seven times from the substitutes' bench.
Chalobah was used occasionally at right-back and has also previously featured in defensive midfield, but it is in the heart of defence he would be used by Moyes should he arrive at the London Stadium.
On the basis of his performances in an underwhelming campaign for Chelsea, Chalobah could bring plenty of much-needed qualities to West Ham's backline.
In fact, the Sierra Leone-born machine compares similarly to Manchester City's Manuel Akanji in terms of their statistical profiles.
Chalobah ranks in the top 9% of all defenders across Europe's top five leagues for touches of the ball per 90, while Akanji is in the top 2%, and they are ranked in the top 18% and 16% respectively for touches in the opposition box per 90.
Indeed, as per FBref, Chalobah even comes out on top in some of the purely defensive metrics, such as tackles won per 90 (1.12 v 0.98), interceptions per 90 (1.34 v 0.63) and aerial duels won per 90 (1.73 v 0.91).
Akanji does fare better when it comes to recoveries per 90 (5.35 v 4.80) and blocks per 90 (1.06 v 0.95), but the numbers show that Chalobah is arguably a better player than many give him credit for.
Considering Moyes is currently relying on Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna at the back, signing a hungry player with Premier League experience in Chalobah would be a very wise move, and could be the ideal match.
