West Ham United are interested in a move for highly-rated Juventus youngster Samuel Iling-Junior, according to a report from TuttoJuve.

According to TuttoJuve, the Hammers are lining up a £26 million bid for the player, but they have not submitted an official offer as of yet.

Previously, Iling-Junior has played for the youth academy of Chelsea – in 2020, he made the jump to Juventus after rejecting an athletic scholarship with the Blues. Interest was high in the Islington native – he was reportedly monitored by clubs such as PSG, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund (as well as Juventus).

With Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma being the Irons’ only natural wingers, the signing of Iling-Junior will give West Ham quality depth in this area of the pitch.

Who else, besides West Ham United, are linked with a move for Samuel Iling-Junior?

West Ham aren’t the only club in the Premier League who want to bring Iling-Junior on board – TuttoJuve also mention that Everton are interested in a move for the 19-year-old.

While the Toffees are undoubtedly a huge club, they are currently mired in financial turmoil – additionally, they risk breaching Financial Fair Play regulations if they spend too much in the upcoming summer transfer window.

As such, the Hammers will likely lead the race to sign Iling-Junior – but Everton may have more room to manoeuvre if they can offload box-to-box player Amadou Onana soon.

Why is Samuel Iling-Junior so highly coveted?

Iling-Junior is a lightning-quick, powerful winger who possesses excellent technical ability – he is the perfect wide man to have in the modern game.

While his game time for Juventus has been minimal, given his age, this is understandable. So far, he has scored a single goal in 12 Serie A appearances for the Old Lady.

Moreover, Iling-Junior is also English – as such, he can be added to the number of home-grown players that must be part of every Premier League squad. Under the current rules system, every squad must contain at least eight players who have been developed by teams in England. If they were born broad, then they must have played for a youth academy in England for at least three years.