While their last four results have been less than ideal, West Ham United are quietly having a brilliant season in the Premier League and Europa League.
David Moyes may have got it wrong in the FA Cup, but his side currently sit sixth in the league, are through to the knockout rounds on the continent and have just added Kalvin Phillips to the mix – the future looks bright for the Eastenders.
Things could be about to get even better as one of the latest players touted for a move to the London Stadium could further challenge the side's midfielders and potentially become the perfect partner for the on-loan City man.
The Hammers look to Germany for Phillips' ideal partner
According to a report from German publication BILD earlier this week (via TEAMtalk), West Ham are among several clubs 'converging' on Borussia Mönchengladbach's star midfielder Florian Neuhaus this month.
The report has claimed that there is a 'good chance' that the German international could leave the Bundesliga giants this month or, failing that, in the summer, with the Hammers, Liverpool, Aston Villa, and VfB Stuttgart all keen to land his signature.
While there hasn't been a reliable report into how much the 26-year-old might cost this month, it was reported in the summer that a fee of around £35m would be enough to seal the deal.
While that's not cheap, it could prove to be value for money for an experienced midfielder with ten international caps and 163 Bundesliga appearances to his name.
How Neuhaus compares to West Ham's central midfielders
Now, unless Phillips arrives in East London with zero match fitness and makes several horrific appearances in a row, he's likely to take one of the starting spots in central midfield. After all, he wouldn't swap a place on Manchester City's bench for a place on the bench somewhere else, and the Hammers wouldn't pay a loan fee and cover his £140k-per-week wages to use him as a backup.
With that in mind, Neuhaus' best way into the starting XI relies on him being able to displace the other starting central midfielder, be that Edson Alvarez or Tomas Soucek.
The former 1860 Munich star is a versatile player and has been used all as a ten, eight and a six in the past, but with James Ward-Prowse being one of the first names on the teamsheet in that ten position – he has started 100% of the Hammers' league games – it seems ludicrous that the German would take his place.
So that leaves the Czech and Mexican internationals as his most significant competition in East London, and from an average league goal and assists front, he has them beaten, scoring three goals in 703 league minutes this season, to Alvarez's one assist in 1344 minutes, and Soucek's five goals and one assist in 1620 minutes.
His superiority goes beyond just goals and assists, though, as when comparing the trio's underlying numbers from this season, the "complete midfielder", as described by talent scout Jacek Kulig, comes out on top in the vast majority of relevant metrics.
For example, in every attacking statistic, the "top-class" German, as dubbed by Kulig, dominates his potential competition, especially regarding progressive passes, progressive carries and shot-creating action per 90.
Neuhaus
Soucek
Alvarez
0.33
0.29
0.03
0.38
0.28
0.00
4.87
2.50
2.75
3.31
0.54
0.28
1.02
0.56
0.07
85.1%
75.0%
85.4%
3.46
1.17
0.87
1.15
1.00
1.34
1.41
1.22
1.28
6.15
4.61
5.84
Moreover, while he wins fewer tackles per 90 than Alvarez, he makes more interceptions than both players and with Phillips next to him, Neuhaus may well have more licence to influence things further up the pitch as well.
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Ultimately, if the fee of £35m is accurate, or even close to the actual cost of signing the Mönchengladbach star, then Moyes and Co should be pushing hard for this deal as he could help push the club further up the table and genuinely challenge for the Europa League.