Manchester United & Arsenal Give Boost In Chase For £40k-A-Week CB
There seems to be impasse at the Upton Park over West Ham’s desire to keep star defender Winston Reid. The New Zealander has a contract that runs till the end of the season but Allardyce seems keen to keep him and he has been offered a new deal which the West Londoners are unwilling to improve. According to Goal, the Hammers are insistent that they won’t increase the offer made to him.
This decision could be counter-productive considering the fact that both other top Premier clubs; Arsenal and Liverpool are considering luring the highly rated centre back to their clubs. Both clubs already have the lure of Champions League football and the hunt of trophies to sway him away from Upton Park.
Unlike at West Ham, Reid might not be an automatic starter at either Liverpool or Arsenal considering the fact that there are experienced player there already but he would be good enough for rd choice and if he does well from the bench, he might just displace the incumbents ahead of him.
Should he fail to agree an extension with West Ham going into the winter window, West Ham might be keen to cash in on him rather than loose him for free in the summer. The possibility of getting him in January would appeal to the duo of Arsenal and Liverpool because both teams are keen to bolster their defensive ranks. Arsenal are in the market for a new centre back after failing to replace former captain Thomas Vermaelen in the summer while Liverpool could also try to strengthen their backline as new summer signing Lovren hasn’t really hit the ground running at Anfield.
Both Arsenal and Liverpool are big enough to better any contract offer West Ham makes it to him but it is going to be an interesting transfer tug of war between Arsenal and Liverpool. Should West Ham resign to the fate of loosing him, they would try to get as much as they can for him in January and that could set the stage for an interesting bidding war between the two Premier League rivals.