David Gold has played down speculation West Ham are chasing Jack Wilshere, telling talkSPORT the club’s main priority this summer is bringing in two new strikers with Premier League experience.

The Arsenal midfielder is being tipped for a transfer having spent last season on loan at Bournemouth and the Hammers have been made odds-on favourites by bookmakers to sign him.

When asked about the link to Wilshere on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, co-owner Gold said: “We are interested in all good players but we have to face the facts here – we have got good midfielders.

“We have got a good defence, we have got good midfielders, we have got good wingers. We need strikers and that is the key to everything for this season so we are focused first and foremost on bringing in two strikers.”

Gold insists lessons have been learnt from last summer’s disastrous recruitment drive and the club will no longer look to sign foreigners who are untested in English football.

Wilshere’s Arsenal teammates Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud are two other names being linked with West Ham and, while Gold did not confirm the club’s interest, he suggested they are exactly the type of forward players boss Slaven Bilic wants to bring in.

“It’s clear to most fans that we are desperate for centre-forwards,” said Gold.

“Andy Carroll is injury-prone as we know, we have had an injury problem with [Diafra] Sakho and we have just got to bring in centre-forwards. We have got to find the money.

“Without strikers, you struggle in the Premier League. You struggle in any division because strikers are your key players.

“You have to spend your money wisely but it must be on strikers, particularly strikers that have had experience with Premier League football – the very best we can afford.

“We have tried the route of going overseas to bring in players – that hasn’t worked. We had a very difficult season because players we brought in from Europe didn’t make the grade and we paid the price. We struggled.

“We were actually flirting for some time with relegation because we couldn’t score goals. That is why we have got to bring in players with Premier League experience and that is what we are working on now. David Sullivan is working day and night in an effort to solve this problem.”

Listen to talkSPORT’s interview with David Gold IN FULL above!