Moyes could unearth the next Modric with West Ham bid for "perfect" £51m "protagonist" - opinion

West Ham United have been dealt a blow in their bid to bring Orkun Kokcu to the London Stadium this summer.

That’s according to a report by the Daily Mail, who claim that Leicester City have now opened talks with Feyenoord regarding a deal for the central midfielder, who the Eredivisie side are believed to be demanding a figure in the region of €60m (£51m) in order to part with this summer.

This news is sure to have come as a huge blow to David Moyes and his West Ham transfer team, as the Hammers are also reported to be extremely keen on a move for the Turkey international this summer – particularly as Tomas Soucek’s future in east London is said to be looking more uncertain with each passing day.

Considering just how exciting a prospect Kokcu undoubtedly is, it would very much appear as if Moyes should do everything in his power to land the 21-year-old ahead of Leicester this summer.

Indeed, over his 32 Eredivisie appearances last season, the £19.8m-rated talent was in sensational form in the heart of Arne Slot’s side, scoring seven goals, registering nine assists and creating ten big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.4 shots, making 3.2 key passes and completing 1.3 dribbles per game.

The 16-cap international also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 1.3 tackles, 0.5 interceptions, 60.4 passes, 3.6 long balls and winning 4.3 duels per game.

These returns saw the £5k-per-week playmaker average a rather astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.60, not only ranking him as De club aan de Maas’ best performer in the league but also as the third-best player in the division as a whole last time out.

It is form such as this that has seen Kokcu earn comparisons to