OPINION
West Ham defender Winston Reid looked to be on borrowed time at the club but Manuel Lanzini’s injury may have extended his career at the Hammers.
Football.London reported that Hammers manager Manuel Pellegrini had been dealt a transfer headache following the playmaker’s injury as he was now set to have to splash the cash on a new attacking midfielder.
According to the news site this would mean that Pellegrini’s desire to sign two centre-backs in this window may not be met with him only having the funds to grab one.
While Reid will no doubt be devastated for his teammate the injury to Lanzini could see him stick around at the club longer than expected.
It was previously claimed by popular West Ham insider ExWHUemployee on Twitter that the Hammers were set to listen to offers for the 29-year-old enforcer.
The club would listen to offers for him. As I said on the radio show, he is vulnerable at moment and club have concerns regarding his regular injuries and it is likely to get worse. Whilst we are not actively looking to sell-if the right offer comes in we could listen https://t.co/V2TrmqgbsY
— ExWHUEmployee (@ExWHUEmployee) May 31, 2018
While it was stated that the club weren’t actively trying to get him out of the London Stadium, the Hammers’ concerns about the defender’s recent injuries woes would have definitely seen him dropped from being considered a regular member of the first-team .
Reid only managed to make 20 appearances for the London club in the 2017/18 campaign and was constantly held back due to suffering numerous injuries.
The enforcer, who earns £70,000-a-week as stated by Spotrac, even ended the season on the sidelines after suffering a serious knee injury and it’s easy to see that his days were numbered at the club due to his unavoidable tendency to be unreliable due to injury problems.
However with Pellegrini now looking unable to sign two centre-backs Reid has been saved from the chopping block as the club need him to be cover at the very least when it comes to the position of centre-back.
Reid may have a long contract, it doesn’t expire until 2023, but given his recent woes and disappointing performances by his standards in recent times when fit the injury to Lanzini will only temporarily save him.
When you consider the bumper wage he is on unless he has a dramatic change of luck regarding his injuries then it seems likely that as soon as a second centre-back can be signed, maybe even in January, Reid will still be ditched.
The 29-year-old has delivered some fond memories over the years but everyone is aware that the club can only look forward in order to get better and it seems Reid might be unfortunately not able to keep up as the club moves on.
