At this time of the year, much attention is focused on which players could join West Ham, but the club have been working on keeping members of the current squad part of the team.
Recently, Michail Antonio signed a new long-term contract and another five players are set to follow suit with renewed or improved deals.
According to reliable source, @ExWHUemployee, talks have begun with a number of players with deals expected to be complete soon.
West Ham are set to hand five players, including Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek new and improved contracts to reflect their bigger status at the club.
Initial talks have begun with Jarrod Bowen about an improved contract. The likes of Liverpool are keen on him and although West Ham have no intention of selling the 25-year-old offering him a better deal on more money is likely to help persuade him to stay. He is fully deserving of the new deal too, he is adored by the fans and his on fire form earned Bowen a Premier League player of the month nomination and potential England call-up.
Additionally, an improved deal is expected to be given to Tomas Soucek. The Czech midfielder was Hammer of the Year winner last season and despite not scoring as much this campaign his performances in his now more defensive minded role are under-appreciated by some fans. He is nearly never out the starting XI and he was a big miss in the recent defeat to Leeds highlighting his importance. Soucek is vital to West Ham and with potentially bigger clubs interested; tying down one of David Moyes’ favourite players is a smart move.
22-year-old full-back, Ben Johnson, is really making a name for himself this season. His ability to play either flank has been vital while Aaron Cresswell, Vladimir Coufal and Arthur Masuaku have all had spells on the sideline. Johnson’s current contract expires in six months but he has the option of a two year extension. West Ham want to reward him with an entirely new deal with both sides of the negotiating table happy to commit.
Continue to the next page to find out what other West Ham players are signing new contracts.
Who else is committing their future to West Ham?
Angelo Ogbonna is another whose contract expires at the end of the season. The Italian suffered a terrible knee injury that will keep him out for potentially the remainder of the 2021/22 season. There was fears that we’d never see Ogbonna in claret and blue again. His presence at the back has clearly been missed while Craig Dawson or Issa Diop have deputised.
West Ham are keen on signing a left-sided centre-back, potentially Duje Caleta-Car, to replace Ogbonna in the long-term as he is 34-years-old. But, for now, there remains hope we will see the former Juventus man back out on the London Stadium pitch as he is set to be offered a contract extension with Ogbonna delighted to accept.
Lastly, Lukasz Fabianski’s deal expires this summer with the 36-year-old already to have believed to put pen to paper on a contract extension. We simply wait for the official announcement on this one.
A number of supporters want Alphonse Areola to sign on a permanent deal and take Fabianski’s place as first choice goalkeeper for next season. This seems to be sensible as Areola has impressed when given opportunities in the Carabao Cup and Europa League. The Frenchman is a lot younger than the former Polish international and has better distribution skills and with Fabianski’s age, it could be time to switch him into the back-up keeper.
With the players mentioned committing their future to West Ham, some others look set to leave the club.
Alex Kral has had his game time limited by Moyes and surely his deal won’t be made permanent. Also, Andriy Yarmolenko’s deal expires at the end of the season and surely he will leave on a free transfer as West Ham were listening to offers for Yarmolenko and three others this month.
There could be even more departures too with nine players out of contract come July.