West Ham are in the ‘front row’ in the race to sign AC Milan forward Noah Okafor this month, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

The Italian outlet suggests the Hammers are amongst a number of clubs in Europe that want to add the Switzerland International to their ranks this winter. The 24-year-old was all set to join RB Leipzig earlier this month, but a loan move collapsed after the Swiss striker allegedly failed an aspect of his medical.

Leipzig reportedly agreed a loan fee of £1.7m, with an option to buy in the summer for £22m. It is very likely that the Hammers would match that deal as they don’t want to over spend after spending upwards of £100m in the summer. The Hammers are also committed to making Jean-Clair Todibo’s move permanent for around £27m.

So, a loan move could be exactly what Potter needs so he can wait, save money and have longer to find his ideal striker that can help the Hammers have a better and more consistent season next time out. It could be the perfect scenario to make sure we don’t rush into signing a striker, and yet again getting it wrong like we’ve seen so many times before.

Noah Okafor is versatile forward, capable of playing down the middle and out on the wing, preferably on the left. He hasn’t had the best of times since arriving in Milan last summer, scoring 7 goals and providing 5 assists in 52 appearances. It was at RB Salzburg where the Swiss International really made his mark in Europe. He notched 34 goals and 23 assists in 110 games for the Austrians, earning a €15.5 million move to the San Siro.

Milan clearly want to loan out Okafor due to his lack of games this season, he has only played 23% of the minutes available to him in Serie A this season with players like Rafael Leao, Christian Pulisic, Samuel Chukwueze, Tammy Abraham and Alvaro Morata ahead of him in the pecking order in both wide and central positions.

Noah Okafor wouldn’t be the most inspiring signing for us West Ham fans, however, he would likely be a better option than Andre Silva who seems the most likely forward to make the switch to London Stadium at the moment.