West Ham United are looking for inspiration long term after the departure of talisman Dimitri Payet and a Belgian star could be just the man.
Youri Tielemans
The Hammers have become more of a team since Payet left to return to Marseille last month.
Slaven Bilic’s rejuvenated side have seen results improve drastically as a result and the club are sitting in ninth place after the 1-1 draw at Watford last time out.
While talented midfielder Manuel Lanzini provides skill, guile and excitement for supporters there is no question the Hammers miss the magic of Payet, no matter how inconsistent the Frenchman could be at times.
After a disastrous summer of recruitment before the start of the season and the loss of Payet, West Ham will be in dire need of top quality reinforcements in the next window if they have any realistic hopes of challenging the top six in their new 66,000 seater Olympic Stadium – as it will be from next season.
And one player who would represent superb business and more than fill the void left by Payet is Anderlecht starlet Youri Tielemans.
The brilliant 19-year-old Belgian was already on the radar of some of Europe’s top clubs before an unforgettable week which saw him net three wonder goals.
Wonderstrikes from a wonderkid
The attacking midfielder has already played a staggering 128 games for the Belgian runners-up despite his tender years.
And he has 25 goals to boot, three of them coming in an astonishing seven days as he found the net from fully 25 yards with his right and left foot.
The mercurial talent would likely cost the Hammers a record fee.
But with fans demanding more from West Ham co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold in the transfer market it would represent a real statement of intent were the club to go after such an established talent who Bilic could build a side around.
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