West Ham have reportedly offered midfielder Freddie Ljungberg £3 million to cancel the remaining 3 years of his contract with the Hammers. The package represents than his £3m+ a year he is said to earn from it, but the Hammers are probably banking on him taking the cash and then finding a lucrative contract elsewhere to see out the remainder of his career, as they seek to cut the wage bill at the club.
For me, it’s a slightly strange move by the club, Freddie has not exactly set us alight this season but he is far from being our worse performer. Although injury prone, he could still have had a part to play next season, though presumably the club just thought we were paying him too much to be a squad player.
There is also some speculation that Lucas Neill and Luis Boa-Morte could be subject to similar offers from the club. If true, this would represent a dis-mantling of the team Alan Curbishley sought to build in the his first full season at the club. I can only guess we are not paying Nigel Quashie enough to justify giving him such an offer….either way, strange days at Upton Park lie ahead for sure.
If BG is prepared to dismantle Curbishleys' team it can only mean one thing that AC and MD will be on their way soon. Ljungberg, apart from his age and injury record is still one of our best players in my view and after Duxbury has confirmed that he will not be sold recently 'strange' is the appropriate word in your article here as the Times is normally reliable.
Posted by: john ws | 09/05/2008 at 01:23