Everton are being linked with a move for West Ham United’s Winston Reid.
Over the weekend, the Daily Mail reported that Everton are interested in signing West Ham United defender Winston Reid in a £9million swoop.
The Toffees have seen Ramiro Funes Mori suffer a setback in his recovery from injury, and whilst new signing Michael Keane has arrived from Burnley, veterans Ashley Williams and Phil Jagielka are both over the age of 30.
Ronald Koeman may now see West Ham star Reid as the ideal addition to his back line, but he may already have to go back to the drawing board in pursuit of another defensive signing.
Winston Reid of West Ham United celebrates scoring
The London Evening Standard now report that West Ham will refuse any interest in Reid this summer, taking a similar stance to their position on the future of playmaker Manuel Lanzini.
Reid, 29, joined West Ham from Midtjylland back in 2010, and has now racked up more than 200 appearances for the club in all competitions, becoming one of the fixtures of an ever-changing West Ham defence.
Reid’s reliability has been vital for West Ham, and losing him in the final month of the transfer window would – pardon the pun – be a hammer blow for the club, especially after Slaven Bilic improved his back line with the signings of Joe Hart and Pablo Zabaleta.
Yet, West Ham’s decision to snub interest in Reid isn’t a particularly difficult one, given that Reid is under contract with the club until 2021, and Everton’s alleged £9million offer would be derisory anyway.
Everton, as noted by The Guardian, paid £11million to sign Ashley Williams from Swansea last summer, whilst Leicester City have just paid £17million (Sky Sports) to land fellow centre back Harry Maguire from Hull City.
Reid is younger than Williams and has a longer contract than Maguire had, meaning that West Ham’s valuation of Reid could and should be much, much higher than the £9million Everton were allegedly willing to offer, with deals for other Premier League centre backs helping set their price.
How much do you think Winston Reid is worth?
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