In-the-know podcaster @ExWHUemployee has issued an update regarding West Ham United’s supposed interest in Arsenal’s Rob Holding.
According to a report by The Sun earlier this week, David Moyes was eyeing a loan move for the centre-back and the club was willing to pay a £5m loan fee.
However, another report by The Sun just a day later claimed that the player would turn down any loan move away from the Emirates Stadium.
It was stated that Holding is keen to nail down a starting spot in Mikel Arteta’s side.
Holding currently has three years left on his contract with the Gunners and a market value of £8.55m according to Transfermarkt.
In the latest episode of The West Ham Way Podcast, @ExWHUemployee issued a short update regarding the 24-year-old Englishman.
He said: “The interest in Rob Holding – it’s apparently very unlikely to happen. I think he’s going to possibly stay at Arsenal now. [Any deal for Holding] is not that close.”
TIF Thoughts…
As can be seen in what the in-the-know podcaster had to say, it seems that the Hammers will have to look elsewhere for a centre-back recruit.
Will you be disappointed if West Ham do not sign Rob Holding on loan?
No, he's not that good
Yes, he's a good player
During the 2019/20 Premier League campaign, Holding made just eight league appearances for the Gunners in which he earned a 6.55/10 average rating (per WhoScored).
That rating made the 24-year-old defender the ninth-worst performer to feature for Arsenal in the league and the same rating for the Hammers would have made him their joint-12th-worst performer.
Holding made an average of 0.5 tackles and 0.6 interceptions per league outing last term, which is far worse than the 1.2 tackles and 0.9 interceptions that Angelo Ogbonna averaged.
Issa Diop was also more impressive as he averaged 0.8 tackles and 1.5 interceptions per Premier League match during the 2019/20 season.
So, it would certainly seem that the Hammers will not be missing out if they are not able to bring Holding in on loan from the Gunners in the current transfer window.