West Ham United's priority at this stage of the transfer window may well be on bringing in a midfield replacement for Declan Rice, but David Moyes could desperately do with some upgrades in other positions.
Who are West Ham looking to sign?
Beyond their midfield targets, which are said to consist of Conor Gallagher, Scott McTominay, Amadou Onana and Youssouf Fofana, West Ham have also been linked with centre-back Luiz Felipe, plus strikers Folarin Balogun and Habib Diallo.
Spezia's Emil Holm has also been touted as a target at right-back, while it could also be all change on the opposite flank as Aaron Cresswell is in talks over a move to fellow Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers, according to the Daily Mail.
That suggests Moyes already has a player lined up to come in at left-back, and The Athletic claims United are one of a handful of clubs interested in signing Ian Maatsen from Chelsea.
Maatsen starred on loan for promoted Burnley in the Championship last season, but it is reported that the Clarets have declined to meet Chelsea's £20m asking price to sign the defender permanently, opening the door for West Ham to pounce should they wish.
Is Ian Maatsen a good option for West Ham?
Maatsen was named in the EFL Championship Team of the Season after impressing for Burnley last time out, while also picking up the Player of the Month gong along the way in January.
The Netherlands U21 international was crowned Man of the Match on four occasions by WhoScored, which was the joint-most of any Burnley player, along with Nathan Tella and Manuel Benson.
An attacking full-back, Maatsen scored four goals and assisted six more in 39 appearances. Indeed, he is ranked in the top 13% of all full-backs across the eight leagues most similar to the Championship in terms of quality, as per FBref, and the top 16% for assists.
Maatsen averaged 0.27 goals or assists every 90 minutes last season, which compares to 0.04 for Cresswell across his 28 matches for West Ham, though the latter did of course play in a division higher.
Still, that is a huge difference and suggests Moyes is looking for a more attack-minded alternative at left-back. Even if taking the defensive metrics into consideration, it could still be argued that Maatsen is a big upgrade on what West Ham already have.
The Dutchman outperformed Cresswell last season in terms of tackles won per 90 minutes (1.42 v 0.44), blocks per 90 (1.01 v 0.85) and interceptions per 90 (1.45 v 1.09).
Maatsen also came out on top in metrics such as pass-completion percentage (80.6 v 77.8) and touches of the ball per 90 (86.1 v 64.8), though Cresswell is stronger in terms of aerial duels won (50.9% v 32.3%).
Described as a "superb" player by Manchester Evening News reporter Alex James, it appears as though Maatsen is destined to play in the Premier League one way or another this coming season – and indeed for many years beyond.
West Ham supporters will surely hope that is with them, rather than across London at Chelsea.
