David Sullivan must boot Winston Reid out of West Ham United for the final time this summer as the defender is no longer who David Moyes needs.
What’s the word?
While speaking with Football Insider, former Premier League striker Kevin Phillips claimed the Irons may soon work on agreeing a mutual termination of Reid’s contract ahead of the summer transfer window.
Reid is due to remain under contract at the London Stadium through to 2023 on a £70,000-per-week deal penned back in August 2017, before falling out of favour following surgery after a freak knee injury sustained against Swansea City seven-months later.
The 32-year-old centre-half is yet to feature in claret and blue since, with his only appearances coming with the Hammer’s U23s and during loan spells with MLS outfit Sporting Kansas City and Championship side Brentford.
Phillips has been impressed with Reid’s performance at the Brentford Community Stadium since joining Thomas Frank’s promotion-chasing Bees in January, but doubts his efforts in the second-tier will warrant a return to West Ham at the end of the season.
“I don’t think there’s a way back for him at West Ham,” he told Football Insider. “I watched the Brentford game [against Sheffield Wednesday] the other night and he was good. His experience in that league is invaluable, particularly his organisation.
“But going back to West Ham, I think David Moyes has probably assessed the situation and said he’s going to look elsewhere, let’s put it that way. I think come the end of the season, whether they terminate his contact mutually or someone comes in for him, he won’t be with West Ham next season.”
Should West Ham let Reid leave this summer?
West Ham are reportedly 99 per cent certain that Watford loanee Craig Dawson will remain at the London Stadium beyond his season-long loan, while Moyes is said to be in the market for at least one additional senior centre-back amid links with Rangers’ Connor Goldson.
The Irons may reduce their centre-half group with the departure of summer free-agent Fabian Balbuena and they wouldn’t want to roll the dice too much on their playing staff., However, Moyes has shown throughout the season that he enjoys the way left-back Aaron Cresswell performs in the middle of his defence. And to be fair to Moyes, this has worked well for the Hammers.
West Ham are bouncing in and around fourth in the Premier League table, with chances of them staying within the top four shortening as the season has gone on. Indeed, we’re at the point now where the Hammers’ form is such that bookies, online casinos and betting sites are giving very short odds on them qualifying for the Champions League. These are some of the odds we found:
- 32Red: 5/1
- Mr Green: 5/1
- Bet365: 5/1
Of course, these odds are indicative of the good form West Ham are in as we write. Any drop off will see these sites revise their opinions, which is why we suggest you check the odds at these top-rated online casinos after each result and see how they’ve changed. This will give you an indication of how confident Hammers fans should be of getting Champions League football in the 2021/22 season.
Irrespective of whether Moyes is able to secure Champions League football for West Ham, it’s been a season of enormous over-delivery for the manager and his players. Moyes has looked reborn and full of new ideas, including moving Cresswell into the centre of defence to plug holes in the squad. This, though, isn’t great news for Winston Reid.
Cresswell’s presence beside Angelo Ogbonna, Issa Diop, Dawson and a potential additional signing would surely leave Reid with no role to play next term, and thus likely that Sullivan and Moyes will explore terminating the New Zealanders’ lucrative contract.
It would be a different picture if reports were not already suggesting Moyes is keen to sign an experienced centre-half at the end of the season to supplement his current options, as it would offer Reid a slimmer of hope that he can earn a claret and blue comeback.
Instead, what the 32-year-old could bring to east London – his leadership – is set to be replaced by a player like Goldson, who Steven Gerrard praised earlier this term for his “incredible leadership” in search of Rangers’ first Premiership title in a decade.
So, releasing Reid with a severance package could save the club from paying out big for the next two years on a player with no hope of a future at the London Stadium, especially should a side such as Brentford not pursue a permanent deal in the off-season.
AND in other news, West Ham have been given a potential boost in hopes to sign a 19-goal striker this summer…