With there still over three weeks remaining in the summer transfer window, it could be wise for West Ham United to find a replacement for in-demand midfielder Declan Rice should he depart the London Stadium...

What's the word?

According to Le10 Sport, the Irons are one of the teams interested in making a move for Paris Saint-Germain powerhouse Idrissa Gueye as the Ligue 1 outfit looks to offload some of their players to raise funds.

It appears as if the 30-year-old's chances of remaining in the French capital past next month's deadline are slim with Crystal Palace and Wolves also keen on landing him.

Though no fee is mentioned. Gueye is valued at £21.6m by Transfermarkt and is reportedly on €75k-per-week (£68k-per-week) at Parc des Princes.

Rice replacement?

So much has been made of Rice's future in east London with his former youth side and local rivals Chelsea thought to be hot on his tail. It's been claimed by The Athletic that the Blues see the 21-year-old as a long-term solution at centre-back.

Although it appears they are currently unwilling to meet the Hammers' whopping £70m valuation but that doesn't mean this saga won't go down the final day next month.

Despite Gueye's advancing years, he'd be a pretty nailed on successor to Rice going on just how good he was for Everton.

During his final season at Goodison Park (2018/19), the Senegalese international averaged 4.3 tackles, 2.2 interceptions and 0.7 dribbles per game, via WhoScored.

He had a field day against Manuel Pellegrini's XI in March that year, recording nine tackles, four interceptions and one dribble. He even won 11 of 14 ground duels against the likes of Manuel Lanzini, Marko Aranutovic and Pedro Obiang, per SofaScore.

The Toffees had been missing him up until their Allan capture and this is seen most in comments from his former teammates. Morgan Schneiderlin claims Gueye is "amazing" in what he does defensively whilst Theo Walcott believes he has "real top quality".

PSG are unlikely to recoup the £30m they paid for him last summer, but that's something firmly in David Moyes' favour.

AND in other news, West Ham flatter to deceive with interest in PL "animal"...