West Ham United, Swansea City & Bristol City target 23-goal League One hit-man with £10m fee mooted

Leyton Orient's highly-regarded England youth star Dom Ballard is the subject of serious Championship transfer interest this summer.

The 21-year-old bagged a League One-high 23 goals last season, with his exploits understandably catching plenty of attention in the second tier.

The former Southampton academy graduate has already been linked with a move to German side Werder Bremen this month, and now the Daily Mail are reporting that West Ham United, Swansea City and Bristol City all hold serious interest in the striker.

Ballard only joined Orient from the Saints on transfer deadline back last September, with the O's taking a punt on the attacker after he had shown glimpses of his potential during loan spells with Reading, Blackpool and Cambridge United.

Their faith in the young attacker was immediately rewarded as he notched six times in his opening six games in the capital, before he went on to end the term as the league's leading marksman.

In total, he scored 23 times in the league, including three hat-tricks, leading to speculation that his time at Brisbane Road could be short-lived.

Whilst it's understood club chiefs are keen to retain his services as they look to stage a promotion push in 2026/27, a significant offer from a higher-league club could leave them with no option other than to cash in.

No official valuation has been placed on the former England U21 star's head, although Football League World have claimed that Orient could look for an eight-figure sum if they are to sanction an exit for their star man.

Ballard was named in the League One Team of the Season at the EFL's glitzy end of season awards ceremony last month, whilst he was also crowned League One's Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season, further swelling his value.

West Ham United appear to be the front runners in the battle for his signature with the Hammers the beneficiaries of parachute payments following their Premier League exit.

Nuno Espirito Santo is expected to be busy as he fine-tunes his squad for a first Championship campaign since 2011/12, with Ballard just one of a number of players on the Portuguese's summer wish list.