Report claims more baffling West Ham deals are on the way for injury prone Michail Antonio and recently renewed Mark Noble

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Some of the deals being handed out to players by West Ham United have been a cause of concern for fans.

When Andy Carroll was handed a six-year deal by West Ham in 2013, it raised eyebrows the football world over.

The club had a disastrous history of signing injury-prone players such as Keiron Dyer, Freddie Ljungberg and Craig Bellamy to name but a few.

Carroll made just over 100 league appearances in six seasons once he made his loan move permanent.

Surely that was enough to finally teach the club a lesson?

When will West Ham learn contract lesson?

Seemingly not when injury-prone Winston Reid was handed a whopping six year deal himself in 2017. It is a deal the defender still has FOUR years left on.

The penny must have dropped now then?

Step forward Aaron Cresswell. The Liverpudlian, riddled with injuries and a loss of form for the last three seasons, was handed a fresh four year deal earlier this month.

That came not long after fellow left-back Arthur Masuaku, deemed not good enough for the Hammers by a large section of fans, was also handed a new five-year deal with a TWO-YEAR option no less.

Fellow West Ham site Claret and Hugh claims both deals were ‘asset protection measures’ to ensure the players do not walk away on free transfers.

‘Asset protection’ or lack of ambition?

But the cynics suggest it is more an indication of more penny pinching on the horizon from owners David Sullivan and David Gold.

The divisive duo handed Pellegrini a meagre £25million net in the summer. It means the likes of Aston Villa spent more in one summer than West Ham have for the last four windows combined.

Well there is more evidence for Hammers fans on the way according to a new report.

Claret and Hugh – which regularly claims to have a top level source inside West Ham – is now reporting that West Ham are set to hand injury-prone Michail Antonio an extended deal.

Report claims more head-scratchers on the way

And captain Mark Noble, who signed a new contract less than a year ago, is also set to be handed a contract extension according to C&H.

The most encouraging line from the report is that star player Lukasz Fabianski will be handed a much-deserved extension too.

It is difficult to know what to make of it all.

There is a lot to be said for continuity at a football club.

But if the new deals are in lieu of showing ambition in the transfer market to improve the first team then that can only be a negative for the club in the long-term.