James Collins featured for the entire 90 minutes of West Ham’s 3-0 win over Stoke City.
West Ham United defender James Collins showed David Moyes just why he deserves to earn the Scottish manager’s first contract extension since he joined the club in November.
The 34-year-old’s current deal expires on June 30, making him available to talk to clubs as part of a pre-contract agreement from January 1. But during Saturday’s 3-0 win over Stoke City, Collins was at his rock-solid best.
The retired Wales international kept the likes of Mame Biram Diouf, Peter Crouch and Xherdan Shaqiri quiet, as Mark Noble, Marko Arnautovic and Diafra Sakho scored the goals to earn Moyes’ second win in charge.
Former Aston Villa and Cardiff City defender Collins has been sidelined for much of the season with an ankle injury that he picked up during a 0-0 draw against West Bromwich Albion back in September.
He looked destined to return in November, but he tweaked his hamstring while playing for the Under-23 side. He returned on Saturday against Stoke, though, with consummate ease and not the kind of player who has missed three months.
Currently earning £35,000 a week, according to the Daily Star, Collins is likely to continue his run in the first team following Saturday’s win.
The Hammers currently have Winston Reid, Jose Fonte, Angelo Ogbonna and Declan Rice as options at the back, but Fonte has been poor since his move to east London and both Fonte and Ogbonna have suffered numerous injuries.
If Collins can continue his excellent return against Stoke by starring in Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup match against Arsenal and keep a clean sheet, then surely it would be impossible not to hand the veteran ace a 12-month extension?
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