West Ham United have rightly made signing a new midfielder to replace Arsenal-bound Declan Rice a top priority this summer, but the Hammers cannot afford to neglect other areas of their squad.
In a positive development for United supporters, it appears focus has finally switched to defensive upgrades in time for the 2023/24 season.
What new players have West Ham bought?
Rice, whose £105m move to London rivals Arsenal now looks likely to be finalised on Monday, is set to follow Manuel Lanzini and Arthur Masuaku in departing the club this summer.
The Europa Conference League winners have yet to make any signings, which is all the more worrying when you consider they start their pre-season programme against Boreham Wood on Monday.
Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria appears to be United's top choice to replace Rice, while La Stampa – via TuttoMercatoWeb – suggests Torino defender Perr Schuurs is also wanted by David Moyes' men.
How good is Perr Schuurs?
The Italian outlet suggests West Ham are willing to pay €20m (£17m) for Schuurs, while also allowing Nikola Vlasic to head the opposite way following his successful spell on loan with the Serie A side last season.
That makes it a fairly sizable deal from United's perspective, but they will be getting themselves a hugely talented centre-back in the process – and an upgrade on the declining Angelo Ogbonna in the heart of their back four.
Schuurs ranked in the top 7% of all defenders last season across Europe's top five leagues in terms of possession won, while he was also in the top 13% for aerials won, as per The Analyst.
The former Netherlands U21 international won 0.98 tackles per 90 minutes last season across his time with Ajax and Torino, as per FBref, which compares to 0.29 for Ogbonna at West Ham.
Indeed, Schuurs also comes out on top in metrics such as blocks (1.10 v 0.80), the number of dribblers tackled (0.57 v 0.36) and pass-completion rate (88.1% v 80%).
Schuurs is not exactly an unknown talent, having impressed for Ajax in Eredivisie before doing likewise for Torino in Serie A, and links to a Premier League club are also not new.
The former Liverpool target has been tipped to reach the top since the age of 17, when former Manchester City goalkeeper Ronald Waterreus described him as "the leader of his club in everything", and a player who was destined to reach the top.
An added bonus Schuurs brings is an ability to make an impact in the opposition box, as highlighted by his two assists last season. Ogbonna, by comparison, did not score or assist any goals.
In fact, Schuurs ranked in the top 37 percentile for shots taken by defenders across Europe's elite leagues last season, showing he is not afraid to have a go at goal himself.
Whether Kurt Zouma is still good enough to play regularly at the back for West Ham is a separate issue, but by bringing in a player of Schuurs' quality, Moyes will at least be resolving one troublesome area of the pitch.