West Ham suffered a big blow last month after Andriy Yarmolenko suffered a major Achilles injury that will keep him out for at least six months. He will need to regain match sharpness, and the Hammers fans can safely assume that his season is more or less over.
With big money signing Felipe Anderson struggling to make an impact, Manuel Pellegrini probably feels the need to bolster the attacking department in the January transfer window.
In recent weeks, the Hammers have been linked with Edin Dzeko and Stephan El Shaarawy, and now Gervinho has become the latest player to be linked with the club.