West Ham have mocked reports that they will hold a watching brief on Basle’s 33 year old hitman Marco Streller before deciding on a January move.

A story  emerged in a national newspaper today that Sam Allardyce was keen to make a move for a player he had in his pre-season sights..

However,  with four strikers on the staff, a Hammers source pointed out that a central defender is likely to be a more urgent requirement in January.

Basle decided to hold on to Streller when the Hammers made quiet inquiries in the summer  and we  have now closed the door on a move.

A West Ham source told ClaretandHugh tonight: “I don’t think there’s any chance at all we’ll be going down that road.

“We are happy with what we have up front and are more likely to be looking at  reinforcing the back four.”