The Hammers’ new head coach Graham Potter has two key forwards sidelined with long-term injury, so 21-year-old Mbangula was among his main targets to take to the English Premier League.
Potter succeeded former Spain manager Julen Lopetegui last month, with part of his remit to swiftly find some firepower. With key strikers Michail Antonio and Niclas Fullkrug out, the ex-Brighton & Hove and Chelsea boss scoured around top European clubs for a bargain-priced forward.
After West Ham failed to sign Brian Brobbey from Ajax and Ricardo Pepi from PSV Eindhoven, shortlisted Mbangula was next. The Bianconeri rebuffed the bid for their rising star, with Potter instead settling to sign Evan Ferguson on loan from his former club Brighton.
Ferguson, who had notched just one goal in 13 Premier League appearances for the Seagulls before rejoining Potter, was hot property before being plagued by injury.
Mbangula recently bagged his first Champions League goal, which proved to be the winner for Juventus in their play-off first leg clash with PSV.
He has been heavily utilised as a super sub, in a bid to inject life to the attack, by head coach Thiago Motta this term. His 17 Serie outings include 10 appearances from the bench, with three goals to his credit.
The uncertainty hanging over the future of Serbia star Dusan Vlahovic, who is being monitored by a bunch of English clubs, means that Motta is unlikely to relinquish 21-year-old Mbangula in the summer.
Kolo Muani may have made an instant impact since arriving on loan from Paris Saint-Germain, but the Ligue 1 outfit will surely be reluctant to sell the French international if he has truly rediscovered his scoring form.
Kenan Yildiz, who won the Serie A Goal Of The Month award for January, is an emerging talent.
The Turkish teenager has an extraordinarily high price tag of €80m (US$84m), and his parents recently met super agent Jorges Mendes. Whether he will remain at Juventus in the near future will depend on how successful he is under Motta’s stringent tactics.
Mbangula could soon eclipse Yildiz, and he has visibly grown in confidence as the season has progressed. Motta has preferred throwing on the Belgium international over outcast Vlahovic in recent weeks.
West Ham are likely to approach Juve again in the summer for Mbangula, whose value could soar during the rest of the season to €30m (US$31.5m).
Yet the club may well dismiss any interest from clubs if they seriously view the whizzy winger as their next gem unearthed from their Juventus Next Gen academy.