West Ham have made enquiries for Lorient forward Terem Moffi but believe he is beyond their budget.
As previously reported, West Ham might have to wait until the summer to be able to afford the 23-year-old.
Southampton have already had a £15m offer rejected earlier for the highly-rated Nigerian in this transfer window.
French side Lorient have set an asking price of £25m for the player who has scored 12 goals in 18 games this season.
In fact, Moffi opened the scored on Saturday against Marseille but his side went on to lose 3-1.
Moffi left Nigeria and moved to England to join the Buckswood Football Academy in Hastings at the age of 17.
He then took his talents to Lithuania where he played for Kauno Zalgiris and Riteriai.
Moffi then had a short spell at Belgian side Kortrijk before joining Lorient in October 2020.
The Hammers also hold an interest in Moffi’s team-mate, winger Dango Ouattara, who has an offer from Bournemouth.
The 20-year-old has chalked up six goals and six assists in 18 games for Lorient so far this campaign, contributing greatly to his side’s strong start to the season.
But West Ham are unable to spend big after their hefty spree during the summer window, in which they forked out big money for the likes of Gianluca Scamacca and Lucas Paqueta.
David Moyes is keen to bolster his squad with the Hammers sitting in 18th place in the Premier League.
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