West Ham United are in the relegation zone, staring down the barrel of a return to the Championship for the first time since 2012. Furthermore, the east London side revealed last month that they posted financial losses of £27.26m from May 2019 and their accounts stated that staying in the Premier League was: “An absolute necessity.” However, the ludicrous decision making that has been occurring at boardroom level appears to be finally catching up with them, and a prime example is centre back Winston Reid.
The 31-year-old New Zealand international is just over midway through a six and a half year deal he signed back in 2015. Yet the defender has not made a single appearance for the Hammers in either of the past two seasons, after he suffered knee ligament damage and was knocked out during a match against Swansea, his last appearance. His salary is believed to be in the region of £70,000 a week, which equates to £3.64m annually, which for the past two seasons has gone to waste.
During the January transfer window, there were murmurs that the centre back could be heading for the exit door from the Olympic Stadium, and manager David Moyes said: “Winston is still here, he is still training, still working towards possibly going to America but we have not got that confirmed yet.” Meanwhile Charlton Athletic reportedly had a loan bid for the player turned down, but the deal was laughed off the table.
The fact that the West Ham board are in no rush to get rid of an asset which is costing them millions of pounds a year with no return highlights the questionable decision making at the club. Even the initial agreement to sign the player on a six-and-a-half-year deal appears excessively long, for someone of Reid’s age, and the contract does not expire until July 2023, by which point the defender will be three days short of his 35th birthday.
At present the 31-year-old defender does not even appear close to West Ham’s first-team squad, meaning the chances of him adding to his 166 Premier League appearances could be slim. Yet the board’s reluctance to let him leave, even if temporarily on loan, highlights their muddled thinking that they are currently paying the price for.
