West Ham United could be in for an exciting January transfer window if they manage to secure the services of Gabriel Barbosa.

According to Sky Italia's Gianluca Di Marzio, the Hammers are in the process of starting negotiations with the Brazilian, who has been playing his football at boyhood club Santos since the beginning of the year

West Ham's interest in the centre-forward could be a consequence of the injury that was sustained by main striker Marko Arnautovic against Cardiff City at the beginning of the month.

And despite the East London club coping well in the absence of Arnautovic, could the addition of Barbosa be important towards the latter stages of the season.

The 22-year-old, who is still under contract at Italian side Inter Milan, could be well set for a new club as it appears he might have fallen out of favour at the San Siro.

With Mauro Icardi leading Inter in the last two seasons, Barbosa must have been left frustrated on the bench, which triggered the temporary move to Santos.

And when he returns from his loan spell at the Brazilian club at the end of the month, could Manuel Pellegrini be keen to get Barbosa to put pen to paper as soon as possible.

Having struggled to find his feet in Europe, Barbosa would be an exciting addition to both Pellegrini's team and the Premier League where he will be able to compete at the highest level.

Within the West Ham team, he would also offer rotation to the likes of Javier Hernandez, who has been in fine form in recent matches, while Barbosa could also play as a second striker when Arnautovic returns.

His physicality and competitiveness in the air could pose well for Pellegrini, who has had to rely on Arnautovic for most of the season to put real pressure on opposition defenders with a physical presence.

And Barbosa's hold up play has also been a strong feature of his game and could that aspect of his game be a perfect fit for the current West Ham team whose players have done brilliantly in playing off one another.