West Ham’s transfer window is clearly being coloured by the pursuit of a striker.

The Irons sold Sebastien Haller to Ajax earlier this month, banking £20m for the forward, and are now in the market for a replacement.

Reports have claimed that there is interest in a number of forwards, including Stade Reims’ Boulaye Dia and Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri.

However, it now appears that there is also interest in a central midfielder.

Sport Witness carries a report from Sport.ro, a Romanian news outlet, who claims that there is interest in FCSB star Darius Olaru.

The 22-year-old is something of a jack of all trades, as he can play in attacking midfield, central midfield, and as a striker, while also being able to play on both flanks.

He moved to the club from Gaz Metan back in January of 2020, with the club paying a total of €600,000 (£533,946) to acquire his signature.

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Since then, he has gone on to make 29 appearances and has scored seven goals, while providing five assists.

A Romania U21 international, West Ham are said to be interested in taking him to England, and the club’s owner, Gigi Becali, has now outlined the conditions needed for him to sanction a deal.

He said: “If they pay €10m, I will sell Olaru.”

That equates to £8.8m.

GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…

This seems like a bit of a strange one.

West Ham clearly need a striker and a move for a central midfielder seems somewhat superfluous in this market.

One has to consider that the Hammers have a brilliant central midfield pairing in Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek, while the likes of Pablo Fornals, Manuel Lanzini, and Said Benrahma offer real creativity behind Michail Antonio.

A move for a striker has to be the priority, not a bid for a central midfielder who is only just starting to make a name for himself in Romania.