West Ham United could be set for a mass exodus of players in the coming summer, with nine players in the squad’s current roster out of contract.
Manager David Moyes has some big decisions to make over the futures of these nine players, some of whom are currently key assets in The Hammers playing squad and behind the scenes.
As reported by Football London, the nine players range from club captain Mark Noble and goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, all the way to forward Andriy Yarmolenko, among other big names in the list.
In terms of the playing squad the most notable players in the list are Angelo Ogbonna and Fabianski, with both veterans vying for contract extensions. However, aged 33 and 36 respectively, West Ham must not allow compassion to cloud their judgement and must be prepared to be ruthless if they are to move the squad to new heights.
Fabianski’s replacement is already at the club in the form of Alphonse Areola, who West Ham should make him a permanent signing in the summer to ensure his qualities are not lost.
There is no natural replacement currently in the squad for Ogbonna and West Ham have been looking at their options are centre back, with another big investment likely to occur in the position in the not so distant future.
Academy product Ben Johnson has really progressed this year, even keeping Vladimir Coufal out of the team for stretches this season. Johnson’s contract should be seen as a matter of urgency for West Ham, otherwise they may risk losing him. That being said he does have the option for an extension of his current deal that will likely be triggered.
Retiring captain Noble will obviously not be kept on by West Ham, but Alex Kral is likely to be natural solution here, along with any other potential signing’s in the summer.
Ryan Fredericks and Yarmolenko are both expected to be released however, and with the latter being one of West Ham’s highest earners it would make sense for them to cut him from their wage bill.
It is a big few days for West Ham that could have significant long term ramifications.