West Ham United Center back Winston Reid has risked the wrath of the fans as he is close to agreeing a pre-contract with the Hammers’ London rivals Tottenham that will see him join them for free in the summer.
Reid’s current contract expires in the summer, and as the talks of a contract extension broke down after Reid rejected it, he might be on his way to Tottenham. The New Zealand international has had an impressive season so far which raised some eyebrows as the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham were being linked with him, however, Mauricio Pochettino’s side are set to steal him ahead of the others.
Earlier in the month, manager Sam Allardyce had admitted that Reid will leave in the summer after his contract expires, “There is no future for Winston Reid at West Ham at the moment. His contract finishes on June 30. He hasn’t said he’s going to sign or that he’s not going to sign.
“I’m airing on the side that he isn’t going to sign by the feel of it and look of it. Knowing how the football world works, talking to managers about the situation it’s very unlikely Winston will sign for us given what people are saying to me.
Reid joined the Hammers from Danish club FC Midtjylland in 2010, but it wasn’t until last year when his stock started to rise. He was a key player for West Ham on their route back to the Premier League in 2011-12 season and he kicked on in the following season after making 22 appearances in the Premier League. Reid was deployed as a right-back in some of the games although he is predominantly a center back. This season, he has been a first team regular after appearing in all but one game so far [25 appearances in all competitions].
A move to Tottenham in the summer could not be the best for Reid considering the quality of center backs that are already at the club. With Jan Vertonghen, Eric Dier, Vlad Chiriches, Federico Fazio, and YounA?s Kaboul, Reid could find it hard to get regular game time despite impressing this season. Reid is still only 26, so he could have waited for maybe a year or two before deciding to move to a bigger club as this is his 1st season where he has really shone as a defender. For Tottenham, it could be a big deal as they’d be getting a quality player for nothing if he does sign for them.