West Ham are trying to sign a striker.

The club are looking for a back-up to Michail Antonio after selling Sebastien Haller to Ajax earlier in the January transfer window.

It leaves a massive hole in the squad, with David Moyes looking to bring a new forward in behind the Englishman.

And the Irons seem to have landed on Boulaye Dia as their preferred forward target.

The Stade Reims striker has been in electric form in Ligue 1 and has scored 12 goals in 17 Ligue 1 games this season.

However, it now appears that the French club are not exactly in desperate need to sell the 24-year-old.

The broadcasting deal in the league has collapsed but Sport Witness carries a report from But Football Club, revealing that Reims have received a payment of €4.78m (£4.2m) after taking legal action against the French Football Federation.

Reims were relegated in 2016 and replaced by SC Bastia, but the latter had a number of financial problems that should have seen them barred from promotion.

That’s given Reims some degree of breathing room, and could potentially mean the Hammers have to pay through the nose to land the forward.

GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…

This isn’t exactly good news for the Irons.

Still, they have been boosted by the money received from Ajax’s purchase of Haller and should be able to afford Dia if they really want him.

He is valued at £10.8m by Transfermarkt and has a contract that runs until 2022.

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A move to bring in the Senegal international, who has won three caps, is clearly affordable, even with this update.

A January deal is clearly doable.