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West Ham United are now showing considerable interest in signing an “explosive midfielder”, with sporting director Mark Noble personally an admirer.

Hammers looking to sign midfielder to replace Rodriguez

West Ham are determined to get Guido Rodriguez off the books at the earliest opportunity, with the midfielder clearly failing to impress both Graham Potter and Nuno in the Premier League this season, having made just five appearances.

Should the Hammers manage to offload Rodriguez, there may be space to bring in another central midfielder, and Ray Parlour has suggested an Aston Villa star could be exactly what they need, saying: “John McGinn again, another good performance from John. You know what you’re going to get from John every week. People must look at John McGinn and get a buzz because he always gives 100 per cent.

“He’s got quality as well, there’s no doubt about that, but the desire to play is fantastic. You need John McGinn at West Ham at the moment, he’d get people going there.”

With Villa still in the title race and the Hammers four points adrift of safety, however, the Irons have started to identify some more realistic targets, and they are now in the picture to sign Zulte Waregem midfielder Tochukwu Nnadi.

That is according to reports from Belgium (via Sport Witness), which state West Ham are now showing considerable interest in signing Nnadi, and a January deal could be possible, as his current employers are working on bringing in a replacement.

The Belgian club appear to be willing to sell the Nigerian, who is currently at AFCON, which may be exciting news for Noble, as the sporting director has already made it clear he is a fan, having recommended the signing of the central midfielder last month.

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The Hammers are looking to reshuffle their squad this month.

Posts ByDominic Lund "Explosive" Nnadi could be risky signing for West Ham

It is clear the Hammers need to strengthen before the end of January, given that relegation is starting to look increasingly likely, most recently failing to bridge the gap to Nottingham Forest by losing 3-0 against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.

There are some indications the Zulte Waregem maestro could be an exciting addition, having received high praise from former manager Tom Caluwé, who said: “He is a strong and explosive midfielder who combines technique with a huge work ethic.”

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However, the 22-year-old is still inexperienced, having only played in Bulgaria and Belgium to date, so it would be a gamble for West Ham to sign the former Botev Plovdiv man in an attempt to save their season.

Not only that, but with West Ham shipping 41 Premier League goals this season, the highest number of any side, signing a new defender should be the priority this month, and there has been a new update on their pursuit of Toulouse defender Charlie Cresswell…

West Ham’s frantic transfer activity across the opening days of the January window has resulted in them completing two striker signings already, but they may not be finished there.

Nuno Espirito Santo has received unprecedented backing from the board, with the relegation-threatened Hammers confirming Brazilian striker Pablo Felipe’s arrival from Gil Vicente for £20 million.

The 22-year-old, who scored 10 goals in just 13 Primeira Liga appearances this season, was swiftly followed by Lazio forward Valentin Castellanos after Nuno’s side also struck a deal to sign the Argentine.

As announced by the club, Pablo was also signed in time to be available for today’s crucial trip to Wolves, pending Nuno’s selection.

The deal represents a club-record sale for Gil Vicente and was accelerated through super-agent Jorge Mendes’ involvement, who holds a stake in the player and crucially represents Nuno himself.

Pablo promised supporters he would “leave every last drop of sweat on the pitch” while acknowledging his youth but vowing to prove his worth.

Castellanos, meanwhile, endured a difficult campaign under Maurizio Sarri with just two goals from 12 Serie A appearances, though he netted 14 across all competitions last season.

New York City FC will receive either 10 or 15 percent of the fee depending on conflicting reports, leaving Lazio pocketing approximately £21 million.

The quick-fire dual signings underline the urgency surrounding their situation.

Saturday’s Molineux showdown against fellow strugglers Wolves takes on enormous significance, with the West Ham board still working to back Nuno with more January signings.

West Ham offered former Tottenham forward Steven Bergwijn

Widespread reports have indicated in the build up to January that West Ham were set to sign Adama Traore too, but according to insider ExWHUemployee, there’s been a twist to the tale.

Fulham are believed to be making West Ham’s life far more difficult than initially anticipated when it comes to a deal for the Spaniard, with an alternative now emerging in the form of ex-Tottenham winger Steven Bergwijn.

The 28-year-old, who’s bagged 21 goals and 10 assists in 45 total appearances for Al-Ittihad, is rumoured to be earning around £154,000-per-week in the Gulf, which would make him West Ham’s highest-paid player.

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Posts ByJames O'Reilly

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsUmar Akmal’s 64 set up Pakistan’s win•Getty Images

It can’t bring back the World Twenty20 trophy, but Pakistan extracted some sort of revenge on Australia in their first meeting since the semi-final in St Lucia. Again, a vigorous Umar Akmal half-century set up Pakistan’s innings but this time their bowlers, led by Mohammad Aamer, did enough to strangle Australia’s run-rate and deny Michael Clarke’s men, who couldn’t chase down 168.In May, it took something special from Michael Hussey to drive Australia into the decider against England, as he monstered the 18 needed off the last over, bowled by Saeed Ajmal. This time, Ajmal fittingly collected the final wicket and was mobbed by his team-mates as Australia fell to a 23-run defeat, their first loss to Pakistan in any format in their past 13 meetings.Umar set up the victory with the fastest Twenty20 international half-century by a Pakistan player, a 21-ball effort that brought the thousands of Pakistan fans at Edgbaston to their feet. Their 167 for 8 looked competitive but gettable, and when David Warner scythed five boundaries from Shoaib Akhtar’s first five balls, Australia appeared to be in charge.But once the field went back, and Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul came on, the runs dried up. Gul delivered yorker after yorker, and Afridi altered his pace and angle to keep Warner and David Hussey guessing during their 52-run stand. Hussey had 34 from 28 balls when he skied Afridi to mid-on, and Warner followed in the next over.Warner’s 41 from 31 was more restrained than his usual Twenty20 efforts, with the attack on Akhtar his only period of dominance. Ajmal, the unlucky man asked to bowl the final over in St Lucia, deceived Warner with a ball that went straight on, beat the bat and crashed into the stumps. That brought Michael Hussey to the crease, but there were no heroics this time.The Australians needed some top-order support for Warner; instead, Michael Clarke’s dismal Twenty20 batting record continued. He was caught for 5, trying to force Abdul Razzaq through cover and it is now eight innings since he has scored better than a run a ball in a Twenty20 for his country.Aamer (3 for 27) began the strong bowling effort by trapping Shane Watson lbw in the first over of the chase, before he returned to snare the key wickets of Cameron White and Steven Smith. With every wicket the Pakistan fans roared and blasted on their air horns, just as they had during Umar’s batting blitz.The highlight of his 64 was a pair of sixes straight down the ground off Smith, but his ability to the find the gaps and invent ways of scoring was remarkable. It takes a brave man to paddle sweep a Dirk Nannes full toss off middle stump, but Umar made it look like the most logical selection of stroke and ran the ball to the fine-leg boundary.He departed in the 19th over, bowled by Shaun Tait, but by then he’d done enough. Umar was the star, but he had good support from Shoaib Malik in a 51-run stand that included 20 off one over, as Malik launched a stinging attack on David Hussey’s offspin.Malik was out in unusual fashion when he edged a slow bouncer behind off Nannes and the batsmen took a cheeky single, only for replays to show that Tim Paine had completed the catch diving forward. Pakistan looked like they might not even bat out their overs after they stumbled to 47 for 4 in the eighth over.Umar’s recovery won Pakistan the game, and earned him the Man-of-the-Match award. There was no world trophy on offer, but the win will give Pakistan confidence ahead of their long tour of England. And a confident Pakistan is a dangerous Pakistan.