Speaking live on Sky Sports News (via Football Daily), journalist Dharmesh Sheth has made a West Ham United claim involving manager David Moyes and transfer target Nikola Milenkovic.

The Lowdown: West Ham and Milenkovic saga...

The Hammers have been in talks to sign Milenkovic for nearly a fortnight following the club's decision to prioritise the signing of a new centre-half before August 31.

Indeed, despite their alarming lack of depth going forward, West Ham and manager Moyes are keen to reinforce their central defensive options.

Both Kurt Zouma and Milenkovic have been the main targets, with claims even emerging last week that the latter man had his bags packed and a London Stadium move was imminent (Tuttosport).

However, as the talks die down, Sky journalist Sheth has shed some light on the situation.

The Latest: Sky reporter drops Milenkovic and Moyes claim...

Speaking live on air (via FD), Sheth has made a West Ham claim involving Moyes and Milenkovic as he explains why the Serbian powerhouse has not become a Hammers player.

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"West Ham were also in for Fiorentina's Nikola Milenkovic, that looked very close, and we all thought that Milenkovic would be coming to the London Stadium," he said to Sky.

"But, I'm told that David Moyes decided that he wasn't 100 per cent convinced that he was the right man for his squad.

"Because at the end of the day, the way it works at West Ham, yes David Sullivan will do the finances but David Moyes will make the final decision on whether a player comes in or not."

The Verdict: Frustrating update...

Moyes recently spoke of the importance to carefully hand pick players he is certain will improve West Ham's squad (football.london), but with the August 31 deadline fast approaching, they cannot afford to dilly-dally much longer.

Ahead of a long season as they also compete in the Europa League group stages, the Scotsman will have just Craig Dawson, Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna to choose from as senior centre-back options in this moment.

Not to mention they are severely lacking alternative forward options to Michail Antonio, who spent a lot of 2020/2021 on the treatment table.

It really is now make or break for West Ham with new additions arguably a necessity, and they seem to have missed out on Milenkovic who has been described as 'affordable' by Italian football experts (Conor Clancy, speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern).

In other news: 'Wow', 'Perfect'...Pundit in awe of West Ham transfer news involving 'magical' striker, find out more here.