West Ham are considering appointing former Liverpool chief Michael Edwards as their new director of football.
Edwards is currently on a break after leaving his role as Liverpool's sporting director at the end of last season. He enjoyed a successful spell on Merseyside, helping Jurgen Klopp's side sign the likes of Mohamed Salah, Alisson, Fabinho and Virgil van Dijk.
West Ham are keen to improve their recruitment after a difficult campaign under David Moyes. Despite bringing in several highly-rated players last summer, the Hammers find themselves 16th in the Premier League and still not mathematically safe from relegation.
As reported by The Guardian, West Ham have already started their search for a director of football and are expected to have someone in place for the summer transfer window.
Edwards is believed to be one of the names on West Ham's shortlist. Other candidates include Monaco's Paul Mitchell, Brentford's Lee Dykes, Atalanta's Lee Congerton and former Leeds chief Victor Orta. The latter is said to be an unlikely appointment.
West Ham spent nearly £160million on fresh talent last summer, with Moyes having a big say on recruitment. The likes of Gianluca Scamacca, Maxwel Cornet, Emerson Palmieri and Lucas Paqueta were all signed a year ago but have failed to live up to expectations.
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West Ham's decision to hire a director of football could have an impact on Moyes' future. Club chiefs are yet to decide whether to stick with him after a difficult league campaign. It's also unclear whether Moyes would be willing to work with a director of football.
Moyes is said to work well with West Ham's head of recruitment Rob Newman, who could leave his job due to the restructure. The new director of football will work alongside Mark Noble after the Hammers legend became their sporting director in January.
West Ham's largest shareholder David Sullivan is leading the search for a director of football. He is also looking at potential successors for Moyes, with the likes of Brendan Rodgers, Graham Potter and Celtic's Ange Postecoglou on the Hammers chief's shortlist.
Moyes could save his job by winning the Europa Conference League. West Ham, who have not won a trophy for 43 years, boast a 2-1 lead heading into the second leg of their semi-final against AZ Alkmaar. The winners will face either Basel or Fiorentina in the final.
Luring Edwards to the London Stadium would be a huge coup for West Ham. Liverpool defender Kostas Tsimikas, who was signed by Edwards two years ago, was full of praise for the executive in a recent interview with Greek publication Gazzetta.
Tsimikas said: "Usually these people do everything. He [Edwards] has made a lot of important changes in the team, very important transfers.
"He brought me here too and I'm very happy about it. Because if it wasn't for that man and the entire scouting department of the team, I wouldn't be here. I think that if it wasn't for him, the team wouldn't have reached where it is now, with all the trophies it has won. So I, in turn, and the team thank him very much for what he did for all of us."
