West Ham Zone have reported that, despite a disappointing time in East London so far, the club may still decide to try and land striker Evan Ferguson on a permanent basis this summer.

The 20 year old signed for West Ham on loan from Brighton in the January transfer window, signing until the end of the season. Since making the switch to East London, Ferguson has made just one start and five substitute appearances, failing to impress or nail down his place in Graham Potter’s side.

In the Hammers 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, manager Graham Potter used all five of his substitutes and opted against bringing the Republic of Ireland international on.

With a new setup at West Ham regarding transfer business following the departure of Tim Steidten, there’s a chance the Hammers could still make their move to sign the 20 year old in the summer transfer window.

There are a number of players out of contract at the end of the season, and others who may be sold and move on to pastures new. It’s likely to be a busy summer in East London and manager Graham Potter will want to bring in players who fit his vision for the squad.

Tim Steidten took the reins of the Hammers last summer transfer window. Chairman David Sullivan is set to take a more active role in player recruitment. This means the club’s transfer team will be composed of Sullivan, Potter and head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay.

Sullivan being back involved in transfers will not be seen as a good thing by supporters. That being said, Potter will be working alongside Macaulay who he has worked with at previous club’s, and will naturally have significant input in the Hammers summer window and shaping his squad ahead of next season.

Ferguson is a player Potter knows well from their time together at Brighton and is clearly still fond of. Although Ferguson’s loan move has not exactly worked out so far, the 20 year old has bags of potential and a high ceiling. He is clearly talented, being so young, he would help bring the average age of West Ham’s squad down, something the club have needed to do for quite some time.

It certainly seems feasible that the Hammers could look to bring the young forward in in the summer. With Danny Ings likely to leave and Michail Antonio’s future still unclear, if Niclas Fullkrug stays next season, bringing Ferguson in on a permanent basis could represent a smart addition that would improve the Hammers depth up front.

Ferguson is yet to make his mark in claret and blue. Mainly being utilised from the bench, he was subbed off at half time against Wolves, his only start since joining in January. Many fans will now understandably have their reservations against signing Ferguson on a permanent basis.

There would be a number of upsides to signing Ferguson permanently, especially if the club are looking to invest in long term options up front rather than short term fixes, and would be willing to be patient and back his development.

It will be interesting to see if Potter swoops in and tries to bring the 20 year old forward to West Ham on a permanent basis. A move would be dependent on the price tag Brighton set, should the Seagulls demand too much, the Hammers would understandably quickly turn their attention to other targets as they look to bolster their attacking options and solve what has long been dubbed the striker curse.