West Ham have recently been offered the chance to sign Arsenal forward Theo Walcott, according to the Times.
The newspaper claim that Arsene Wenger’s side have tried to sell Walcott, 28, in the past year due to his increasingly bit-part role.
The Times report that West Ham were offered Walcott but rejected him because they “felt his wages were too high”.
It is said that the 47-times England international’s contract, which runs until the summer of 2019, is worth £100,000-a-week.
Good move for West Ham?
Wenger clearly has misgivings over Walcott, as the dream that he could become the next Thierry Henry has long since died. Arsenal have better and multi-dimensional forwards, which has led to Walcott slipping down the pecking order over the last six months. But he would still represent a fine signing for West Ham, given his pedigree, scoring record and extreme pace. Operating predominantly on the right flank, Walcott has scored 107 Arsenal goals and also supplied 74 assists from 390 matches. Those are stats not to be sniffed at.
This Is Futbol rating: 7/10
Likely to happen?
Possibly. Walcott will have 18 months remaining on his contract in January and might have one eye on a transfer. He has been given just 46 Premier League minutes this season despite being fully fit and has started just one league match since captaining Arsenal to a shambolic defeat against Crystal Palace in April. West Ham might be loathe to spend £20million-plus on a new forward in the winter window, but it is a deal that could happen if they were to cash in on Andy Carroll.
This Is Futbol rating: 6/10