West Ham could release seven players as manager Sam Allardyce looks to improve the quality of his squad for next season.

None of the three players acquired on loan in January — Italian pair Marco Borriello and Antonio Nocerino and Colombian full-back Pablo Armero — will be offered terms to stay, while four players from the senior squad are set to go.

Midfielders Joe Cole and Jack Collison and full-back George McCartney are unlikely to be offered new deals when their contracts expire next month, while former France international Alou Diarra looks certain to leave Upton Park despite having a year to go on his current deal. Matt Taylor, another player whose contract ends in the summer, is likely to be offered a new deal.

Allardyce has been impressed bythe 32-year-old’s contribution as a holding midfielder, with West Ham winning more than 70 per cent oftheir matches when the former Portsmouth and Bolton player has been employed in that role.

Allardyce is looking to sign as many as eight new players during the summer, with a striker his top priority.

One player the West Ham manager will be keen to keep at the club is New Zealand defender Winston Reid, who is understood to be attractinginterest from several sides including.