West Ham 'will be looking' to 'reinforce' key position this summer

West Ham United will be looking to ‘bring in some midfield reinforcements’ over the summer after club legend Mark Noble retires, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

Noble is in his final season as a Hammers player after 17 years with his boyhood side and has reportedly set his sights on becoming a sporting director when he finally hangs up his boots.

The east London outfit are currently sitting pretty in fifth position in the Premier League table as they enjoy another successful season under the tutelage of David Moyes.

However, the Scottish tactician could be set for a busy summer when the transfer market reopens.

Michail Antonio remains the only striker in West Ham’s first-team squad while centre-backs Angelo Ogbonna and Craig Dawson are approaching the twilight of their careers.

Yet adding further additions to the midfield could be at the top of Moyes’s wish list due to Noble’s imminent retirement and the uncertainty surrounding the future of Declan Rice.

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According to The Telegraph, Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United have all identified the 23-year-old as a top target ahead of the summer window.

With Tomas Soucek and Alex Kral West Ham’s only other engine room operators currently on their books, Moyes may be forced into an extensive rebuild in the centre of the pitch.

West Ham’s overreliance on Rice and Soucek this season is epitomised by the fact the first-choice partnership have racked up 67 appearances between them in all competitions.

Noble and Kral, on the other hand, have made a combined 26 outings, and O’Rourke reckons the capital club will be forced to sign some ‘reinforcements’ ahead of next term.

He told