The six free agents West Ham should target this summer

West Ham have a massive season coming up; our last year at Upton Park will have to be a successful one to smooth the transition into the Olympic Stadium.

And with the prospect of European football looking increasingly likely due to the Fair Play League, we are going to need to bulk up the squad.

The owners have already indicated that they will put money towards three or four big name signings and a couple of other promising youngsters, but we should also consider players that will be out of contract this summer.

Here I will analyse the best available options that we might be able to recruit on a free at the end of the season…

Click here to reveal the six

Luiz Adriano

Tempting Luiz Adriano to West Ham would be a remarkable coup and a real signal of intent from the club.

The 28-year-old Brazil international is quite simply a goal machine.

Having consistently scored goals for Shakhtar Donetsk, he rose to prominence in the media when he netted five in one Champions League match against BATE Borisov.

West Ham are likely to be behind the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal in his preferred destination but the move is not completely unrealistic, if we advertise ourselves as a team in Europe and with ambition.

Fabian Schar

There are varying reports on the future of Fabian Schar.

As he is under the age of 23, we would be required to agree a compensation fee with FC Basel if we were to sign the Swiss international defender.

It was rumoured that this fee had been settled, but alternative reports suggest that Tottenham are in pole position to secure his signature.

Schar would be a solid addition to our back line with both European experience and age on his side.

Yevhen Konoplyanka

Yevhen Konoplyanka will leave Dnipro in the summer and will have to make a choice over which Premier League team to join.

West Ham, Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal are the four main teams keen on the Ukraine international, who looks set for a move to England.

We are probably fourth in line to secure his services, but the 25-year-old is just the creative midfielder that we have been crying out for.

He would add a different dimension operating from either the wing or a central attacking role.

Danny Ings

Striker Danny Ings is yet to sign a new deal with Burnley and could be set to leave for free this summer, especially if the Premier League strugglers are relegated.

The 22-year-old first caught the attention of the media with his 22 goals as Burnley were promoted from the Championship in 2013/14.

Since promotion, he has led the line for Sean Dyche’s side and scored nine times.

Also attracting interest from Liverpool and Real Sociedad, Ings could prove to be a shrewd piece of business and add depth and youth to our attacking line.

Andre-Pierre Gignac

Marseille forward Andre-Pierre Gignac has already revealed that he will be leaving the French outfit this summer in order to play abroad.

And with both West Ham and Newcastle lurking, the Premier League could well be his destination.

The powerful striker has drawn comparisons with Olivier Giroud and is the second top scorer in Ligue 1 this season – with more goals than Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Whether Gignac can adapt to English football remains to be seen but if we replace Sam Allardyce with Marco Bielsa, then Gignac may be tempted to follow his old boss to West Ham on a free transfer.

Yoann Gourcuff

Once dubbed the new Zinedine Zidane, Yoann Gourcuff’s career has not quite panned out to the levels that were once expected of him.

But the central midfielder seems set to leave Lyon when his contract expires at the end of the season, leaving him available on a free.

At only 28-years old, he is entering the prime of his career and has been capped more than 30 times by France.

He is a midfield playmaker who likes to get forward and he is capable of scoring goals too. He might be worth a gamble if we are able to swoop ahead of Liverpool in the race for his signature.