There have been a number of reports linking James Tomkins with the exit door this summer, with ExWHUempolyee confirming that the club would consider selling the defender for a bid of around £10-£12m.
The 27-year-old is a West Ham fan through and through and has given his all to the club since making his senior debut in 2008. It seems surprising that the Hammers will look to cash in on the defender considering some of his excellent performances at right-back this season.
He was absolutely superb in the opening day victory over Arsenal, coping excellently with the pacey threat of the Gunners’ forwards. He was equally as solid when the Hammers defeated Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield. He also managed to produce a brilliant performance against Southampton despite the black eye he picked up against Aston Villa just two days beforehand. All in all, Tomkins has performed very well when he has been called upon this season and his commitment to the cause and has been fantastic.
Right-back is not his preferred position in defence, all Hammers fans know that Tomkins is a centre-back by trade. Despite this, there were calls in the latter half of the season for the defender to return to that slot as Michail Antonio sometimes struggled in a defensive sense when covering the right-back position.
Obviously Bilic’s preferred starting centre-backs are Winston Reid and Angelo Ogbonna. This is hardly surprising as both defenders have been solid for most of the games they have played together. James Collins is an excellent back up to have but so is Tomkins. A player of his experience and ability means that he is more than capable of fighting for a first-team spot and it is worrying that the club is considering his departure this summer.
If the player is frustrated at a lack of first team football then that is understandable, but to willingly listen to offers for him seems peculiar considering his ability. His versatility, experience and commitment to the club is admirable and the Hammers will be doing themselves no favours if he is sold this summer. It will be difficult to find a player of Tomkins’ class that can adapt to the Premier League as well as he can. It is also important to keep the spine of a squad together and the Basildon-born academy graduate certainly fits the bill in that aspect. Every time he plays for West Ham, you can tell that it really matters to him and losing a player like that could do more harm than good next season.
Are the Hammers right to consider selling Tomkins?
