West Ham United have been warned to stay off Chelsea loanee Ross Barkley by one of their former players Frank McAvennie. In a chat with The Transfer Tavern, McAvennie warned Hammers officials to stay off players like Barkley who blows hot and cold.

Chelsea loanee Barkley has not been able to get to the level shown during the Liverpool and Leicester City games since his return from a hamstring problem in December. He has contributed just two goals since then without finding the back of the net.

West Ham United boss David Moyes is said to be an admirer of Barkley having worked with him at Everton but McAvennie thinks the Hammers would be better off casting their nets in other oceans.

Barkley has been strongly linked with the Hammers in recent times as it looks like he won’t be getting a permanent deal at Villa. The England international will go back to Chelsea in the summer at the end of his Villa loan deal before a decision is made on his future at Stamford Bridge.

McAvennie says he would take Manchester United loanee Jesse Lingard over Barkley all day long. Lingard has been in sensational form since joining the Hammers on loan from the Red Devils and has scored nine goals and provided three assists in 11 games. McAvennie also talked about the need for West Ham United to stop going after players that want to see out their careers like Andy Carroll and Jack Wilshere.

Boyhood Arsenal fan Jack Wilshere left the Gunners to join West Ham United on a free transfer after his Arsenal contract ran out but didn’t play much for the Hammers before his contract was cancelled last summer when he still had a year to go. Jack Wilshere is now playing his club football at Bournemouth in the English Championship.