West Ham defender Pablo Zabaleta is contemplating his next career move and a return to Manchester City to kick-start his coaching career is an option, according to Knees up Mother Brown.
The dedicated Hammers website claim that the 33-year-old is unlikely to stay in London in a playing capacity upon his £75,000-a-week contract (Source: Spotrac) expiring in the summer.
Knees Up Mother Brown report that aside from potentially considering a move to the United Arab Emirates or a Serie A side, Zabaleta is considering hanging up his boots at the end of the season.
It is believed that the experienced right-back is considering calling time on his playing career in order to focus on a coaching role, with it being an option for Zabaleta to go back to Manchester City to pursue that despite him previously rejecting a similar offer last year.
OPINION
Zabaleta had a fantastic spell at Man City and if he wants to kick-start his coaching career than it would be a smart for him to consider returning to his former club to purse that. However it seems like it would be a shame if Zabaleta ended his playing career in the summer as he still has so much to offer. The 33-year-old has featured nine times across all competitions for the Hammers this season and has played a very important role. It’s no coincidence that the Hammers have looked better at the back since Zabaleta started to featuring regularly as he continually can be counted on to deliver the goods. So it would be a big loss if he opted to leave the London Stadium as the Hammers’ current squad would be worse off for not having him to call upon. However the old thing that perhaps suggest the defender may stick around longer at the Hammers is that Football.London reported that the player’s contract has an easily trigger-able extension clause. If he makes more than 25 appearances this season, which is likely, then his deal will no longer end the summer but automatically be extended by another year.
