Over the last 3 or 4 months, The Gunners have been picking up links to West Ham’s star centre-back, Winston Reid. As such, fans will likely have been interested to see Sam Allardyce’s recent comments about the New Zealand defender, who’s now reaching the end of his current contract and will be available as a free transfer next summer:
‘He ain’t going anywhere. He is not going anywhere unless someone bids £20m or something like that. There is obviously not a lot I can do about that.’
‘If somebody flirts around with a measly offer because he is in the last year of his contract, we would make more money by keeping him and finishing where we are in the league — rather than selling him and putting our good season in jeopardy. Because replacing him in January — replacing anybody in January — is a very difficult job indeed.’ (Source: The Mail)
West Ham are currently fourth in the Premier League table. If they can stay in the top eight, they’ll have had an excellent season. If they can pull off that feat, then Allardyce’s decision to keep Reid will have proven to be a good one.
But this won’t be an easy task. How long will The Hammers be able to keep up their current form? Even with Winston Reid in tow, do they have enough about them to challenge for a place in Europe?
There’s another thing to consider too. If a club like Arsenal makes a bid, even one that’s significantly smaller than the one that Sam Allardyce seems to be courting, the player could well have his head turned. Remember when Arsenal’s interest in Yohan Cabaye led to him being removed from Newcastle United’s first team last season? What if the interest affects Reid’s mentality? Would The Hammers really want to keep him then?
I’m not saying that West Ham should sell. I’m just suggesting that they need to be open to the possibility. Allardyce may just be trying to drive the player’s price-tag up, but he needs to be realistic. If Arsenal come knocking with a half-decent bid, then I’d argue that he should take it.
What’s your take? Is it time for The Gunners to give up on signing West Ham centre-back, Winston Reid?
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