West Ham hold talks over deal to grant former favourite free transfer
West Ham are reported to be in talks with Winston Reid over an early termination to his contract.
The New Zealand defender, a former Hammers favourite, was once considered a lynchpin of their defensive unit. However, a series of injuries and new arrivals have pushed him right down the pecking order under David Moyes.
Indeed, after the signing of Craig Dawson last summer, Reid was allowed to depart for first Sporting Kansas City and then Brentford. In total, he made 21 appearances across the two loan spells.
However, the writing was on the wall when the Hammers paid Chelsea £25m to sign French defender Kurt Zouma.
And with Zouma, Dawson, Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna all ahead of him in the pecking order, Reid is a long way down Moyes’ thinking.
As such, Reid’s representatives are reportedly in talks with West Ham over an early termination of his contract. As per Football Insider, Reid still has two years to run on a deal worth £70,000 a week.
However, it’s reported talks are gathering pace to pay on an early settlement. Indeed, the arrangement would grant the 33-year-old free-transfer status as he looks to get his career back on track.
It’ll be something of an emotional goodbye for the now 33-year-old. Once considered one of the best centre-halves around, Reid has made 222 appearances for West Ham since a bargain move from FC Midtjylland in 2010.
However, Reid has not played for West Ham since sustaining a knee injury in March 2018. That was to ultimately prove his final appearance for the Irons and he will now seek a fresh start elsewhere once his exit is finalised.
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West Ham missed Porto star on deadline day
Meanwhile, Portuguese outlet O Jogo (via Sport Witness), claims West Ham were interested in signing Porto’s Zaidu Sanusi.
He is a 24-year-old left-back who can also operate in the heart of defence, if required. He represents Nigeria at international level and has been capped three times.
The report claims that West Ham were considering a move late into the day, but were ultimately put off by the potential cost.
Porto’s asking price isn’t revealed, although Sanusi’s release clause is rumoured to be €50m.
West Ham chiefs decided not to risk a big-money move and ended contact with Porto as a result.
Sanusi is contracted with the Portuguese giants until June 2025 and will likely stay there. That is unless a West Ham bid can be afforded in January.
The Hammers spent upwards of £65.5m during the transfer window, so it’s understandable that they didn’t want to break their budget.
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