Premier League

Price of potential Collins testimonial revealed

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West Ham fans’ petitioned demand for James Collins to have a testimonial could be denied as it would cost the club £500,000 to book the London Stadium for a day, according to Football.London. 

The football news outlet revealed that while the enforcer’s future at the club isn’t definitely decided yet, his contract is set to expire in June, if he leaves the Hammers have to decide whether it’s worth spending a six-figure sum on him to host a celebration at the London Stadium.

Football.London report that the potential special day for Collins would fall outside the 25-day agreement with LLDC, which dictates how many times they can use the ground in a year as part of their £2.5m rental agreement.

OPINION

Hammers fans have already started a petition, as seen on Change.org, to demand that Collins rightly gets a proper send-off if he leaves the club. The 34-year-old’s future is up in the air until its confirmed he’s leaving, but that won’t stop fans planning a celebration of his career in case he departs. The defender was a loyal dedicated servant on the pitch to the club’s cause, every time he stepped on to the field of play and he deserves his moment in the spotlight. Hammers fans rightly want to say a proper goodbye to the defender they affectionately known as ‘Ginger Pele’ and the club should stump up the cash. While it might seem an expensive party, there has been a toxic atmosphere surround the London Stadium ever since the Hammers move there, and having a positive moment for Collins could cleanse that vibe just a little bit. Aside from supporters wanting a testimonial, thousands have signed the petition, if the defender was really informed that he was leaving by email, as reported by the Mirror, the club owe him.

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