West Ham are always linked with every player going when the transfer window comes around. Likewise our own players always seem to be linked with moves; two in particular have been frequently mentioned.
The first player that is always linked to be leaving is Winston Reid. Arguably our best player, who we’ve really struggled without the last few games and I really hope he can start playing again soon but it looks like it could be another 5/6 weeks before he returns. Winston has a contract until 2015 with the club and I know that we would like to keep him for longer than that. He is only 25 and will definitely be a future captain of the club, if we can keep hold of him. Our defence is lacking at the moment so we really can’t afford to lose last year’s Hammer of the Year, especially as Sam doesn’t seem to be willing to give many of our youngsters a go.
Mo Diame is also another player who is often linked with a move to a bigger club. He’s not been great this season and has struggled to get off the bench for some games, however on his day he is amazing, so strong, and tough for any opposition to deal with. There are always rumours about his contract situation and from what we hear he is keen to sign a new contract, so the team need to get that sorted in January before we lose him to top teams. A lot of their midfields are lacking at the moment, unlike our own which is incredibly strong. Diame said earlier in the year that they are not yet talking about contracts but hopefully the club will get a move on with in come January.
Mark Noble has been the subject of a few rumours but I can’t see him going anywhere. In January we need to focus on a couple of contract situations, signing a striker and possibly a defender, as well as offloading Petric and maybe Cole and Maiga. We have a tough lot of Christmas games but looking into the New Year I think we have reason to be hopeful with Andy Carroll starting to play again and Winston Reid being back. Let’s look up the table instead of down because we are close on points with people above also.