West Ham are ready to table a £30m transfer bid to sign Watford's Ismaila Sarr, according to The Sun.

The Irons recently sold Sebastien Haller to Ajax and ideally need to find a replacement before the close of the January transfer window, with nobody left to act as cover for their oft-injured frontman Michail Antonio. 

That has reportedly pushed them towards a potential swoop for Sarr, who has registered six goal involvements in 18 Championship appearances so far this season.

The 22-year-old is perhaps best remembered for scoring and assisting in Watford's shock 3-0 win over Liverpool last term and he was the subject of a failed £25m bid from Crystal Palace in the summer. 

The Sun are now claiming the Hammers are ready to table an even better offer for the Senegal international, who moved to Vicarage Road from Rennes in summer 2019. 

GIVEMESPORT's Christy Malyan says...

Sarr would certainly give something a little different to the Hammers' attack and in that respect could prove to be a solid mid-season addition.

With two dribbles per match to his name this term, Arthur Masuaku is the only player in West Ham's squad who has successfully taken on defenders with more regularity this season - which might well explain why the Irons' win-rate drops by 22% in their wing-back's absence.

Sarr can help replace that missing influence and the fact he usually operates from the right even offers a potential scenario where the Irons have penetrative dribblers down both wings.

The only concern is the suggestion that Sarr could be a direct replacement for Haller. Yes, he's a player who'll boost David Moyes' options in the final third, but the idea of him being a central option is a bit of a fallacy. 

From the 141 games Transfermarkt have recorded Sarr's position for, he's only played as a centre-forward 30 times. Those outings have produced just seven goals, with one of those being a penalty.

Likewise, although Sarr has been used as a striker at times this season, on every single occasion it has been as part of a front two. So in short, there is no proven record of Sarr scoring consistently when used as a central striker, or being able to lead the line effectively on his own. 

Thus, whether West Ham should move for Sarr at this point essentially rests on one question: do they want him because he's a promising young player who can help bolster the squad, or do they want him to directly try and fill Haller's shoes?

If the Irons' primary motivation is the latter, this will quickly prove to be an erroneous swoop.