West Ham United have established initial contact over a deal for Napoli's Hirving Lozano, but they face competition from a Premier League rival.

That's according to Area Napoli, via Sport Witness.

The lowdown

Napoli paid £40.5million to sign Lozano from PSV Eindhoven three years ago, and he's gone to make 114 appearances for the club.

The 26-year-old is listed as a right winger but he's capable of operating across the frontline, which may be useful for David Moyes.

 

The latest

Lozano would like to secure a move to England and has recently changed agents.

His new representatives are said to enjoy a strong relationship with West Ham, as well as another of his suitors in Crystal Palace.

Both clubs have apparently made an 'exploratory' approach as they assess the feasibility of a potential deal.

Napoli want €20million, which equates to about £17million, and are prepared to hang onto him for another year unless they receive a 'very tempting' offer.

West Ham and Palace seem a little lukewarm about the prospect of paying that much, so it remains to be seen if they test the waters with a bid.

The verdict

Why are Napoli entertaining the idea of selling Lozano? It was only the season before last that he was bagging 15 goals and providing five assists, very competitive numbers.

But that output did fall to just six goals and six assists in 37 appearances last season, and perhaps that's left club officials rather underwhelmed.

What's more, they've also brought in a new winger in the form of 21-year-old Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and perhaps he's regarded as a ready-made replacement.

Their loss could be West Ham's gain if Moyes can extract the best form from the player, who's nicknamed 'Chucky' after the 'small, evil red-headed doll' from the film franchise.

That moniker stems from the pranks he played as a child, when he used to enjoy giving his academy team-mates a fright.

If he's retained that spirit, he could be a popular figure inside the dressing room, amongst the fans and a handy weapon on the field too, hopefully terrorising opposition defences instead of his own teammates.