West Ham have been making the headlines this transfer window for the signings they have made, but the east London club now look set to make some player sells in the coming days.

According to Sky Sports, the Hammers are in talks with both Serie A outfit Sampdoria and London rivals Crystal Palace over the potential sells of Pedro Obiang and Cheikhou Kouyate.

And if the midfield pair both leave the London Stadium, manager Manuel Pellegrini is guaranteed to bring in at least one new face.

With that in mind, one midfielder the former Manchester City boss should target is Axel Witsel, who is valued at £18m by Transfermarkt.

Witsel is looking to return to Europe after spending the last couple of seasons in China with Tianjin Quanjian.

The Belgium international has since been linked with a move to Borussia Dortmund (HLN Sport), but West Ham should put themselves in the equation and try gazump the Bundesliga giants.

The 29-year-old is often tasked with shielding Belgium's defence and giving the likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Dries Mertens the platform to perform.

At West Ham, the former Zenit St. Petersburg man could carry out a similar role, thus enabling news signings Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko to have the conditions on the pitch to fully express themselves.

While he has developed into a more defensive style midfielder over the past few years, Witsel has the attributes to carry out almost any midfield role, making him an even more attractive proposition.

Once Obiang and Kouyate are sold, West Ham should reinvest all the cash they gain into signing Witsel.