Everton have been linked with so many West Ham players it is already difficult to keep track of the speculation. Here, ECHO writers discuss which Hammers star they would like the Blues to target

West Ham United need to sell players as they come to terms with the financial consequences of being relegated to the Championship. And Everton could benefit from that.

Reports suggest the Hammers could do with raising in excess of £100m to help deal with the losses associated with falling out of the Premier League - a challenge that will only quicken the exodus of talent already expected to follow the drop.

Everton, in part to David Moyes' recent tenure at the London Stadium and close relationship to players like Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek, have already been linked to several of West Ham's squad, including Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

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So, here, the ECHO's Blues writers choose who they would like to see arrive on Merseyside if Moyes was to raid his former club.

Joe Thomas

For all that West Ham's relegation should be a red flag against being too positive about this squad, I do believe there are several players who could improve Everton's first team.

The two most obvious would be Matues Fernandes and Jarrod Bowen. Fernandes looks set for a move to a Champions League club while Bowen's future is less certain. Whether he played up top or out wide, I think his intelligence and quality would represent an upgrade on what the Blues currently have.

I would sign Bowen if he was happy to come and on terms that were favourable to Everton, but I'm not sure how likely that is.

Even with West Ham's plight, I think he is a player they will have to show some fight over and I would be cautious against spending a significant sum on a 29-year-old - the Blues need to target players, or at least the players they need to invest their money in will ideally be ones who can grow with the club, improving the squad while also having some potential resale value.

The two key targets for me would be Crycensio Summerville and El Hadji Malick Diouf. Both would offer a significant improvement on what Everton currently have.

Summerville would be my priority. He caused the Blues problems in both games last season. A tricky winger with pace and skill, I like his directness and the prospect of him dovetailing with Iliman Ndiaye, potentially Jack Grealish and hopefully an emerging Tyler Dibling would give Everton exciting options out wide and the chance to sustain a threat for 90 minutes and through squad rotation.

Summerville's ball carrying is exceptional and he has pace, which is missing in this side. At 24 but with heaps of Premier League experience, this would be a good time to sign him.

Diouf impressed me in his first season in the Premier League. His attacking ability is something Moyes is sorely missing from left-back and his devilish crosses caused problems to a lot of defences last season, including the Blues.

I would be interested in a move for either of those West Ham players. The player most heavily linked to Everton so far is Aaron Wan-Bissaka. I can see value in signing him, especially if a cheap deal could be agreed quickly, ending the prospect of the Blues starting the campaign without a specialist first choice right-back again.

He would be an improvement on what Everton have now but would not be my end point. Ideally, Moyes needs two right-backs and while Wan-Bissaka would provide an early jolt of reassurance that part of the squad will be in a better place next year, really I would like to see someone come in who can provide greater attacking threat - either instead of or alongside the former Manchester United player.

Chris Beesley

Given the amount of expensively assembled talent in West Ham United’s squad, they’re going to have to slash their wages this summer following their relegation from the Premier League and there are plenty of candidates for David Moyes to go and raid his previous employers for.

The dream ticket of course – not just for the Blues but for most teams in the division – would be Bowen. I’ve always enjoyed watching the England man play, I like the cut of his jib, and his last-minute winner against Fiorentina in the UEFA Europa League final in 2023 that delivered the Irons their first trophy in 2023 was a magical moment, especially as it produced that heart-warming scene in which Moyes put his winners’ medal around his octogenarian father’s neck.

Everton made Tyler Dibling their most expensive signing of last summer but while, after a hugely disappointing debut season at Hill Dickinson Stadium, the former Southampton wonderkid still has a long way to go to establish himself as a Premier League performer, despite the Hammers going down, Bowen is a proven performer.

But even though it was Moyes who gave him his big break in the top flight when plucking him from Hull City in January 2020 though, it looks like a difficult transfer for the Blues to pull off though.

Perhaps Everton could go for another Senegal international with El Hadji Malick Diouf looking like a more realistic target. Like Joe, I believe the 21-year-old has plenty to offer as an emerging left-back who could push Vitalii Mykolenko and it was his ball into the box that caused the chaos for West Ham’s stoppage-time winner against the Blues in April.

At the other end of the spectrum, that goal was netted by Callum Wilson, the ninth of his career against Everton, so while signing him would stop that, at 34 he’s a bit long in the tooth.

Slightly younger is Tomas Soucek, 31, who struck for the fourth time himself against the Blues earlier that day and might be able to still do a job as the big unit in the centre of the park that Moyes likes, with the Czech captain claiming his former gaffer came calling for him in the final weeks of last summer’s transfer window.