I know that the Arsenal boss will not want to meet the transfer demands of West Ham. The East London club actually want to keep hold of their talented centre back and have apparently tried various offers to persuade him to sign a new contract.
But the latest media reports, including from The Mirror, claim that the captain of the New Zealand international team has rejected these offers and also made it cleat to his bosses at West Ham that he wants to make the transfer across London to play for Arsenal and will not be too happy if the Hammers block his dream move.
But that is what Sam Allardyce seems to be doing, despite the fact that he knows Reid will be able to leave for nothing in the summer. The report claims that they are holding out for a transfer fee of around £8 million, which is too much for a defender with just six months left on his contract.
The Gunners were said to be hoping to get him for as little as £3 million and are now looking at something more like £5 million. Reid was left on the bench for Sunday’s win over Hull, adding further fuel to the speculation that he is pushing his club for a move, but it may still take Arsenal to get close to their valuation.
The thing is, we cannot afford to be too tough in the negotiations. After all, it is Arsenal that are in dire need of a quality centre back and if you look at it another way, Reid is worth the money. So why does Wenger just accept the situation and forget about the short time left on his contract? It’s not like we cannot afford it.