Report: West Ham battling Barcelona for Moyes reunion, compared him to Rooney

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CalcioMercato report that West Ham are battling Barcelona to sign Adnan Januzaj. The Belgian ace worked under David Moyes at Manchester United and Sunderland, and currently plays for Moyes’ old side Real Sociedad.

Januzaj, 26, has found a home at Sociedad – just one game shy of clocking up 150 appearances in all competitions. In that time, he has scored 20 goals and laid on 20 assists – but is out of contract at the end of the season.

CM say Barcelona and West Ham are interested, with the Hammers able to offer the Belgium international a pre-contract agreement from January 1. He could be signed on a free, but West Ham would only get him in the summer.

Whether West Ham and Moyes could convince Januzaj to ignore the clutches of Barcelona remains to be seen. Speaking to the Telegraph in 2014, Moyes said Januzaj had as much potential as ex-England skipper Wayne Rooney.

“Januzaj is, in my managerial time, the best young talent up there with Rooney. You can see what he can become. When we had Wayne at Everton you could see the potential. Januzaj has got all that at the same age as Wayne.”

West Ham eye Januzaj: Coup on a free, but do Hammers really need him?

The Hammers have numerous players in a similar mould to Januzaj. A player that can play anywhere behind the striker, on either flank or as a 10. Manuel Lanzini, Pablo Fornals, Said Benrahma, Nikola Vlasic and others.

But, with Lanzini being linked with a move and Vlasic struggling to live up to his price tag, bringing Januzaj in on a free would give the Hammers depth. He is also more than adept as playing as a false nine. On a free, it is a no-brainer.