West Ham United are reportedly involved in the race to sign Portsmouth starlet Leon Maloney after an outstanding campaign for the youngster.

According to a report from The Irish Sun, West Ham are one of the sides interested in signing Portsmouth winger Leon Maloney, but the Hammers face plenty of competition for his signature.

Maloney has caught the eye after an outstanding campaign in Pompey’s youth ranks. He scored 26 goals having predominantly played out on the wing, and he now has a host of clubs interested in signing him.

The Irish Sun reports that the Irons want to bring him to the London Stadium, while Chelsea, Fulham and Champions League semi-finalists Ajax are also monitoring his progress with one year left on his deal at Fratton Park.

The report notes that West Ham’s scouts believe that the 18-year-old has the potential to be a top class player within the next two years, while the Eredivisie side are already hoping to get him working with the first-team if they can get a deal done.

The list of clubs interested in Maloney highlights just how much potential he has. And while it may not be a signing that would immediately pay off for Manuel Pellegrini’s first-team, it looks set to be a fantastic statement of intent if West Ham can now go on and win the race.

The Hammers go into this season with options who provide a lot of quality in the final third. And while Maloney would do incredibly well to break in ahead of them during the next 12 months if he did decide to join the Irons, they would perhaps be ideal players to learn from in the coming years as he gets closer and closer to realising his full potential.

In other news, Report: West Ham want ‘world class’ international; Conte and Lukaku are fans