OPINION
West Ham could play a blinder by successfully binning defender Arthur Masuaku from their squad for the reported asking price of £10million.
According to Claret & Hugh the Hammers will consider offers for the 25-year-old left-back should they be in the region of £10million and it’s seems a smart move by all accounts.
Masuaku has struggled to impress all season across the majority of his 21 outings and has a times been a frustrated liability that the Hammers’ opposition have bee able to expose.
Given that Manuel Pellegrini doesn’t seem to favour playing the 25-year-old on the wing rather than in defence, based on the fact he’s only done it a couple of times, it’s better that Masuaku is offer the books.
This is because Aaron Cresswell is clearly the best option to play at left-back as he is more defensively solid and getting anywhere near £10million for Masuaku should see the club able to bring in a player who would be an upgrade.
Also while the 25-year-old hasn’t wowed for the Hammers this season, £10million is a fair price for all parties involved and should see a suitor easily able to come in and meet the demand in order for a deal to be completed early on in the summer.
The reported asking price takes into consideration that Masukau’s form hasn’t been great as of yet and covers the fact that perhaps it will be a bit of gamble for a side to bank on him turning his form around.
The other reason why the Hammers could play a blinder by binning Masuaku for £10million at the end of the season, is the fact it would lighten the wage bill of his £40,000-a-week wage (Source: Spotrac).
While Masuaku isn’t one of the club’s biggest earners, his wage is quite notable considering his first-team status as it stands and getting him off the books would make way for new players.
Therefore it seems this report suggests that the Hammers could make a genius move by cashing in on Masuaku in the summer as it seems like they’d be letting him go for a respectable price that could help them bring a new face to the London Stadium.