West Ham's preparations for their London derby against Tottenham tonight have been overshadowed by reports from Italy that they may have to cash in on Paolo Di Canio to ease their financial situation.
Harry Redknapp has fought a long battle to keep Rio Ferdinand at Upton Park, turning down a £15 million bid from Leeds despite the possibility of the transfer system being scrapped - but the club are committed to a multi-million pound stadium redevelopment.
Italian newspapers report that Chelsea manager Gianluca Vialli would be willing to pay as much as £4 million for the 32-year-old with whom he played at Juventus and, if so, the profit would be tempting for West Ham, who bought Di Canio for £1.6 million from Sheffield Wednesday in early 1999.
Better news for Upton Park fans is that Vialli's extended pursuit of Savio, Real Madrid's Brazilian winger, is understood to have been helped by the player acquiring a European passport which would remove one of the hurdles Chelsea faced in trying to sign him.
West Ham fans would be horrified at the prospect of losing their Italian maestro but Redknapp's determination to hang on to young talents like Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Michael Carrick is likely to come at a price.
If Savio's price is too high then Vialli will push to complete a move for Di Canio as Chelsea immediately attempt to remedy their poor start to the season.
Les Ferdinand scored the winning goal in Tottenham's 3-2 home win over Everton last week, his first start in almost a year after major Achilles tendon surgery.
With two goals in four games, the forward is showing signs of a return to form.
But he is not a certainty to partner new signing Sergei Rebrov in attack, with Norwegian striker Steffen Iversen waiting in the wings and Chris Armstrong fit again after extended ankle problems.
'Steffen was in the side at the start of the season but the manager chose to bring me in against Everton,' said Ferdinand.
'There is no knowing who will start against West Ham because he may change things again. He said last season he wanted to be able to rotate the squad in various departments and he can do that.'
West Ham have had a poor start to the season, with just two draws from four games, but Ferdinand knows they will be dangerous.
'They have all the motivation they need for this one. It's a London derby, live on television, and a chance for them to kickstart their season.'
- NEWS