West Ham boss David Moyes is eager to see a deal for Inter Milan midfielder Joao Mario closed.
Moyes wrote for the London Evening Standard: "We continue to work hard in an effort to strengthen the squad in the next few days and I'm hoping that Joao Mario's loan move from Inter Milan will have been confirmed on Friday.
"I don't want to say too much until it is done but I was at the Euro 2016 Final when Portugal played France, so I had an opportunity to watch Joao there. He can play in a number of roles. There's a little bit of Manuel Lanzini about his play. He could play off the left or right and even as a No10 if needed.
"I hope he will be a player who will create and score a few goals for us. Even before Manu's injury we were looking to add some creativity but now the need for that type of player is even more acute. At the start of the window the move didn't look like it would happen but as the days have gone on it became more likely."