Summary West Ham could use the Declan Rice money to sign their own Martin Odegaard. The Irons could beat Inter Milan to the target's signature. The player is a captivating talent, having scored plenty of goals from long-range in his career.
West Ham United are beginning to spend the £105m that was raised via the sale of homegrown hero Declan Rice as David Moyes looks to strengthen his squad.
Edson Alvarez has already arrived in a £35.4m deal, while Moyes is eyeing up a move for Man United striker Antony Martial in a bid to improve his attacking options.
The Scot could even turn to Serie A before the end of the transfer window.
Who do West Ham want to sign?
According to reports in Italy, West Ham are keen on making a move for Lazar Samardzic before the window slams shut in just under two weeks.
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Inter Milan are also keen on the Serbian starlet, as per the Calciomercato, and a move looked set to be completed, however, some extra demands were added at the 11th hour of negotiations and the move has stalled.
This could allow Moyes to swoop in and secure his signature in the coming days, beating the Italian giants to the youngster and it would represent a major statement of intent from the club.
Football Transfers currently value the player at £10m, making this move a potential bargain for the Londoners.
Who is Lazar Samardzic?
Although perhaps not as well known on these shores, the 21-year-old has been drawing plenty of praise during his spell at Udinese.
Journalist Bence Bocsak lauded him in April, saying: “7 out of Lazar Samardžić‘s last 10 goals were scored from outside the box.
“Blessed with an abundance of energy, excellent technique and great vision, he’s got the hallmarks of a top midfielder."
Further acclaim was given by Sacha Pisani, who said Samardzic had “ridiculous skill” and it appears, on the surface anyway, that he’d be an ideal signing for West Ham.
Indeed, the 6-foot livewire is also statistically similar to Arsenal talisman Martin Odegaard and judging by his recent form for the Gunners, turning them from European hopefuls to title challengers, it isn’t a bad comparison to have.
According to FBref, the Norwegian gem is the sixth-most similar player to Samardzic across Europe’s top leagues, suggesting he’d be an incredible addition to the West Ham side.
Last season saw the duo register similar statistics with regard to shots per 90 (2.44 to 2.68), pass success rate (80.1% to 80.3%), goal-creating actions per 90 (both 0.49) and tackles (33 to 36).
WhoScored also suggests that Samardzic and Odegaard excel at key passes and dribbling, as both pose a key threat from the midfield and aim to get forward as often as possible.
The Serbia international did register nine goal contributions last term, which was some way down on Odegaard’s total of 23 and suggests he still has work to do in order to become one of the very best, but it's a promising start nonetheless.
If given the freedom of the West Ham midfield, he could thrive in a similar vein to the Norwegian superstar and register double digits for goal contributions in the Premier League.
With Inter still in the hunt, Moyes will need to act swiftly to bring this deal over the line.