West Ham United are considering offering Angelo Ogbonna a new contract, with the defender’s current terms set to expire next summer, according to Calciomercato.
The Hammers intend to sit down and discuss the Italian’s future at the London Stadium to avoid him potentially leaving for free come June. Ogbonna has spent the last six-years in claret and blue after joining the Irons from Juventus for around £10m.
Ogbonna is now closing in on his 200th appearance for West Ham, after reaching game 194 against Southampton on Saturday. He has opened all four of the Hammers’ Premier League fixtures thus far this term, to reach 188 total starts.
David Moyes has consistently relied on Ogbonna throughout his two spells in charge at the London Stadium. The Scot called on the 33-year-old to make 30 appearances, starting each, across all competitions during the 2017/18 campaign.
Moyes has only tackled 16 games without Ogbonna featuring at some stage since returning to east London in 2019, too. The centre-half could now make appearance 195 in the Europa League on Thursday night, after playing a crucial role in West Ham’s qualification last term.
Ogbonna helped West Ham to keep eight clean sheets over 28 Premier League outings. He has already registered one in four top-flight fixtures over their unbeaten start this season. The Irons now want to discuss his future commitment to the club with his terms expiring.
The defender is one of six players whose contracts expire next June, plus loan signings Alex Kral and Alphonse Areola. David Martin, Lukasz Fabianski, Mark Noble, Andriy Yarmolenko and Ryan Fredericks being the other full-time Hammers on expiring deals.
Should West Ham offer Ogbonna a new contract?
Ogbonna faces new competition for his place in Moyes’ backline after West Ham signed Kurt Zouma from Chelsea for £30m. But the Italian has remained a key and influential part of the Scot’s defensive plans so far this season.
He commanded the air against Southampton on Saturday and brought play out well against Crystal Palace last month. The centre-half was calm under pressure from Leicester, too, as he and Craig Dawson began to find their feet after a somewhat shaky start at Newcastle.
If Ogbonna maintains his key and influential presence, it will not be long before West Ham offer a new contract. Moyes has consistently been full of praise for the 13-cap enforcer. He noted of the £70k-a-week ace, via the Irons’ website in March ‘he’s been magnificent’ and ‘his leadership has been really important’.
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