Arsenal legend-turned-pundit Ray Parlour has urged midfielder Jack Wilshere to make a switch to West Ham United during this summer’s transfer window.

The England international has recently recovered from his leg fracture sustained during his loan spell with Bournemouth last term.

Wilshere, now 25, faces a tough task of retaining a spot in the Gunners’ first-team, and he has been allowed to feature for the Under 23s side in order to prove his fitness. With less than a year left on his contract, the midfielder has not found any suitors willing to match his £20m valuation, and this could see him stuck in the Gunners’ squad for the summer at least.

Parlour, who was part of the Gunners’ Premier League-winning invincible squad in the 2003/04, believes the Hammers would be the perfect fit for a player of Wilshere’s calibre, he told TalkSPORT: West Ham would be a great fit for him. He’s got young children and you know if you go abroad he won’t be seeing them kids on a regular basis. He wants to be part of their lives growing up so he wants to stay in England if he can.West Ham would be a perfect fit, definitely.”

Wilshere has had a series of ankle issues over the course of his Gunners career, and this has seen him lose his way in the Gunners setup. The Englishman is also far off from making the Three Lions squad, but a move elsewhere could encourage his chances with Gareth Southgate willing to take the risk with young players.

Wenger has already suggested that Wilshere is free to stay put at the Emirates for the season, and it will be interesting to see whether West Ham United are indeed interested in coming close to his asking price. Slaven Bilic’s side have focused on recruiting players with Premier League experience this summer with the likes of Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez having joined the club.