Allardyce has a pre-match press conference ahead of the FA Cup third round replay against Everton, where he faced more questions on the future of Winston Reid.
West Ham United defender Winston Reid is seemingly on the brink of leaving the club with his contract expiring at the end of the season.
Reid has been a key part of the Hammers defence this season, playing all but one game, and reports have linked him with a move to other Premier League sides, but the West Ham boss seems prepared to keep hold of Reid for as long as he is under contract at the Boleyn Ground.
Allardyce told a pre-match press conference ahead of his side’s FA Cup third round replay against Everton this week: “There’s no choice for me, he stays. That’s it. It would have to be a big offer, and obviously then the Chairmen decide. For me, he stays. The way the club has improved over the last few years as well as having a very big future with the new Stadium, it could be bigger than it’s ever been over the next four, five years.”
There could be an opportunity for the Hammers to get a fee for the New Zealand international if they sold him during this window but stand to lose him on a free transfer this summer. Arsenal are mooted to be strongly interested according to this Daily Mirror report from last week.
But Allardyce’s comments indicate hope that Reid could stay at the club having previously said he thought he’d be on his way out of the club.
If West Ham can build on their positive start to the season, go on a decent cup run and consolidate their position in the Premier League, which could yet yield European football for the side, then Reid may well think twice before swapping the Hammers for another side in the immediate future.
If the 26-year-old continues to impress in the West Ham defence then more and more clubs are going to look at the New Zealander as an option for them from next season onwards.
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