West Ham United are shopping in Italy.

The Guardian says the club's chief executive, Scott Duxbury, and technical director, Gianluca Nani, flew to Milan over the weekend. A deal for Inter Milan midfielder Luis Jimenez is now being finalised.

West Ham hope Jiménez will be the first of three attack-minded signings within the next month or so. Nani will remain in Italy this week in the hope of securing another Serie A player targeted by manager Gianfranco Zola before linking up with his compatriot to finalise plans for a third player.

All three moves are likely to be initial loan deals. That is partly because Zola deems such deals as risk-free - and, in the case with the defender Herita Ilunga last season, successful - and partly because the club's new owners, CB Holding, are not in a position to dedicate large amounts of money to transfers. The club, however, remain committed to significantly strengthening their hand this summer in the hope of improving on last season's ninth-place finish.