David Sullivan has set a date for West Ham contract talks with David Moyes confirms the boss and it points to one outcome.
The fact David Moyes’ contract at West Ham expires at the end of the season was always going to create headlines and speculation.
Especially given the ‘will he stay or will he go’ question has been bubbling away for over a year now.
Moyes has admitted himself he twice came close to losing his job during the dark days of last season.
And Harry Redknapp recently revealed he believes West Ham and the Scot would have parted ways in the summer had it not been for the Europa Conference League triumph.
Will he stay or will he go?
Speculation has once again been rife over whether or not Moyes will be offered a new deal.
As pointed out on several occasions by Hammers News, there is nothing unusual about the fact West Ham have not held contract talks with Moyes yet.
That is how it might be viewed outside of West Ham given what Moyes has – and is – achieving. But majority owner David Sullivan has a strict policy about not discussing manager contracts until the second half of campaigns.
A host of managers have been linked as replacements for Moyes when his contract expires.
Many West Ham fans are divided over the Scot, some even conflicted within themselves. There is a faction who feel he has earned a new deal to continue what he has built in east London. Others want a more attack-minded, modern, progressive coach in charge.
Sullivan sets date for Moyes contract talks
A journalist claimed this week that sources have informed Moyes has told friends – that he will leave the Hammers at the end of the campaign.
It was reported that Moyes has told those friends he “won’t be at West Ham next year” and that he ‘has had no signals from club chiefs they want him long-term’. It was also claimed that work has already started in the search for the Scot’s successor.
Moyes has now spoken out to deny those claims, insisting he has very few close friends he would share such information with.
Now Sullivan has set a date for West Ham contract talks with Moyes confirms the boss and it points to one outcome.
Timing points to one outcome
According to the main man himself, Sullivan has told Moyes he will sit down with the Hammers boss at the end of next month.
And the boss insists his team ARE playing exciting football as well as getting results.
“David Sullivan said we would talk around the end of January so we would probably talk later that month,” Moyes told the press ahead of the Arsenal clash, as quoted by The Sun.
“I think we are playing well – I genuinely do.
“When you look at Lucas Paqueta, Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse, we have got some incredible talent. Emerson is playing fantastically well.”
Expect new Moyes deal after manager’s reveal
Given West Ham will be looking forward to another European last 16 clash and should still be in and around the top six by then, those talks are surely likely to mean Moyes extends his stay.
The manager has already made it clear – including this week – that he wants to continue as West Ham’s manager.
Sporting director Mark Noble made the expectations of the West Ham board for this season perfectly clear this week.
And Moyes will be on course to satisfy all of them by the time those contract talks roll around. So it would be a major shock if a new deal is not forthcoming from Sullivan.
If the talks were scheduled for March or April time it might be a different matter. Because by that time any dramatic downturn in form might mean the Hammers find themselves out of Europe and with little to play for in the Premier League.
So if Moyes is right and he and Sullivan do meet at the end of January, it is reasonable to expect a new deal is on the way.
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