West Ham could go shopping in Ligue 1 as they look to find a replacement for the outgoing Seb Haller.

The Irons need to bring in a forward to provide  proper back-up to Michail Antonio as a matter of total urgency.

There have been plenty of links with a number of strikers but following the financial devastation visited on French football following the recent collapse of  a broadcasting deal it looks a fruitful area for bargains.

Boulaye Dia who plays for  Reims and Montpelier’s Gaetan Laborde  have already been linked with us while Lyon’s Moussa Dembele is another apparently on our radar.

Montpellier’s president has  said he has had no offers for Laborde, but refused to rule out a sale, while Dia’s agent says he has negotiated with the Irons over a potential move. Ligue 1 is the league to watch in this January transfer window .

The Chinese owned  MediaPro broadcasting deal has collapsed  after a promise  to pay 1 bn per year, a 60% increase on the previous deal. Serie A had refused such a bid previously because MediaPro couldn’t provide proof of funds, per various reports.

There was no channel allocated to broadcast the games MediaPro had paid for, either, and they deferred only their second payment, and were taken to court. They have promised to pay €100m but around 90% of the €3.25bn left on the deal has simply disappeared, per 90min.

It means that clubs are staring into a financial abyss and it appears the Irons  can potentially capitalise, striking a low-ball deal for a player to replace Haller.

Dia, for example, is valued at just under £11m by Transfermarkt, but his contract expires in 2022, meaning he may be available for even less.

He has scored 10 goals in 18 Ligue 1 games this season and has also won three caps for Senegal; he could be a low-cost, high-reward option and that can be said for most talent in the French top-flight.

If any links do come out of France, we may all be well advised to treat them seriously