Swansea & West Ham Eye Each Other's Stars as January Transfer Window Opens

Swansea City and West Ham are reportedly targeting two players from each other as the January transfer window gets underway.

The Swans, who boosted their survival hopes with a 2-1 win over Watford on New Year's Eve, are believed to be chasing Hammers strike pair Diafra Sakho and Andre Ayew.

Meanwhile, the Hammers are giving serious thought to prising Ki Sung-Yueng and Alfie Mawson away from the Liberty Stadium, but the Guardian understands that only one of the four deals have the potential to go through.

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Swansea want to be reunited with Ayew, who bagged 12 goals for them during his 12-month spell in south Wales during the 2015/16 season.

However, the Ghana international's wages would likely be a sticking point for the Premier League's bottom club as chairman Huw Jenkins looks to keep a tight ship on the club's salary structure.

Sakho, meanwhile, is the most likely of the two out-of-favour forwards to make the transition from England's capital as he looks for the regular first-team football he craves ahead of the World Cup in June.

The 28-year-old goalscorer will want to be on the plane with the Senegalese national side in Russia in six months' time, and will need to prove his worth in the second half of this term to book a spot in the 23-man party.

Swansea boss Carlo Carvalhal has admitted that he will chase players with something to prove ahead of the summer's international tournament to bolster his first-team squad, but will be wary of others poaching his best players.

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Both Mawson and Ki have impressed for Swansea at varying points down the years, despite their struggles against the drop over the past 18 months, and West Ham boss David Moyes is keen on luring the duo to the London Stadium.

Ki is out of contract in the summer and could be swayed into departing early for a cut-price fee, while Mawson would bring in some much needed funds for Swansea to strengthen their senior ranks.

Jenkins has already tried to head off rumours of departures in the winter window by stating that nobody will be sold this month but, were a big-money bid to come in for either player, it would be difficult for the Swans to stand in their way.