West Ham United appear to be closing in on a midfield replacement for Declan Rice, with their list of targets now reportedly whittled down to four.

Who are West Ham United signing?

According to transfer insider ExWHUEmployee, via Patreon, Conor Gallagher, Scott McTominay, Amadou Onana and Youssouf Fofana are the four men David Moyes has been running the rule over.

All four can bring different qualities to the London Stadium, but it is Onana who appears to be Moyes' top choice to replace Rice, having been constantly linked with the Irons over the past few months.

Indeed, the Belgium international came close to joining the Irons 12 months ago when a £33.5m agreement was reached with Lille, only for Premier League rivals Everton to get his signature first.

Transfer insider Alan Nixon has previously reported that it would take a bid of up to £50m to prise the 21-year-old away from Goodison Park this summer – a valuation West Ham could realistically match, given they will receive £105m through the sale of Rice to Arsenal

Is Amadou Onana a good option for West Ham?

West Ham's loss was very much Everton's gain last season as Onana took no time at all to settle into his new surroundings in the Premier League. The Senegal-born ace ranked in the top 7% of all midfielders across Europe's top five leagues for aerial duels won per 90 (2.17), as per FBref.

Onana is also in the top 23% for tackles per 90 (2.60) and the top 26% for both interceptions per 90 (1.34) and clearances per 90 (1.41). For comparison, Rice is only among the top 45% for tackles (2.17), but he ranks higher than Onana for interceptions (top 5%) and clearances (top 17%).

While the two men have strengths and weaknesses in various areas, there is no doubt that Onana would be a good fit for West Ham, especially if it is alongside a more attack-minded player in a pivot.

Moyes certainly has a good record when it comes to nurturing Belgian players in the past, most notably Marouane Fellaini and Adnan Januzaj.

Moyes was Everton manager when Fellaini joined for a then-club record £15m from Standard Liege, before making him his first signing as Manchester United boss.

Fellaini was far more successful at Everton than he was at United, but even then he still did the job that was asked of him by Moyes at Old Trafford and lasted five-and-a-half seasons before heading to China, where he is still plying his trade now with Shandong Taishan.

Like Onana, he boasted that bullish midfield presence, acting as a nightmare for those on the opposition.

Januzaj is another example of Moyes getting the most out of a Belgian talent, given he was the manager who handed the youngster his senior United debut in August 2013 – the first of 63 appearances he made for the Red Devils, with his career never truly taking off – before reuniting at Sunderland.

Described as a "colossus" by Daily Mail reporter Dominic King, it may well be that Onana is the next Fellaini-esque player that shines under Moyes. Should that be the case, Rice's drawn-out transfer saga really will be a thing of the past.