The Hammers tried to sign the 21-year-old at the start of the season, but will doubtless have to front an even bigger bid after the player's heroics against Manchester United

West Ham tried to sign Midtjylland star Pione Sisto in the summer transfer window, Slaven Bilic has confirmed.

The 21-year-old, who scored the Danish side's first goal in a 2-1 Europa League win over Manchester United on Thursday, is highly rated in his home country, and was called up to the national team at just 20 years old.

And Bilic has revealed the Hammers tried to sign the starlet as a long-term investment.

"He's young, he's 21 so we wanted to get him for the future," Bilic told ITV.

"We watched him against Southampton and in a few other games. He's got pace, he's brave, he's young and he changes direction well.

"He's a great prospect. We wanted him, but we must give credit to him and the people around him - they decided that it'd be better to stay in Denmark for another year."

Manchester United will endeavour to turn around their 2-1 deficit when they host Midtjylland at Old Trafford next Thursday.