David Moyes outlines West Ham transfer plans ahead of final week of January window

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Jack Rosser @JackRosser_21 January 2022

David Moyes remains hopeful of adding two players to his West Ham squad before the close of the January transfer window.

West Ham are in a fight for the top four and the Scot is keen to bolster his ranks in order to maintain their push for Champions League qualification.

West Ham are in need of a central defender following Angelo Ogbonna’s injury, and a striker to provide support and competition for Michail Antonio.

There is interest in Liverpool central defender Nathaniel Phillips who has expressed a wish to move this month, while Blackburn forward Ben Brereton Diaz is also a target.

Despite the Chile international being out of contract at the end of the season, Blackburn - who hold the option of an extra year on his deal - value Brereton Diaz at around £25million.

An additional complication is that the 22-year-old will be on international duty in South America during the final days of the window.

Having struggled in the market so far this month, Moyes remains hopeful of additions and says he has the full support of co-owner David Sullivan.

“The board have been really good, they’ve supported me greatly and said go and get what you need," said Moyes.

“Like everything else things are expensive in this window at the moment and also there’s not a great pool [of players]. The sort of positions we’re looking for we’ve found it quite difficult to identify and get ones we think can come in and make a difference immediately.

“The last couple of January windows we’ve been able to do that and this one has felt a bit more difficult. If things go right and we get a good run of things I’m still hopeful we’ll add a couple of players before the window closes."

Asked directly about Liverpool’s Phillips, Moyes batted away the question.

He said: “I don’t know why you would ask me about a player directly because I would not give you an answer whether I was or I wasn’t so you can take that as whatever answer you like.”