West Ham United centre-back Winston Reid has snubbed a loan offer from Charlton Athletic, as reported by TEAMtalk.
The Hammers had been willing to sanction the loan once Charlton’s offer had been received, but the New Zealand international turned down the Championship outfit.
This was done because he wants to fight for his place in David Moyes’ team and do his bit to help keep West Ham in the Premier League.
Before the move was halted, there would have been a lot of things to like about bringing Reid to the Valley: he has plenty of experience having played 223 times for West Ham and has shown that he can stand up when needed, having scored the final ever goal at Upton Park.
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However, there is one big problem that makes Steve Gallen’s pursuit of the 31-year-old very questionable: injuries.
Charlton have had more than their fair share of fitness issues this season, as signified by the fact that the talismanic Lyle Taylor has missed 15 Championship games this season, while Lee Bowyer was only able to name five substitutes in a match against Sheffield Wednesday.
With that in mind, the last thing the Addicks need is another player on their books who is an injury risk – for all of Reid’s qualities, it can’t be denied that he is one.
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The New Zealand international has not played a single competitive game of football since March 2018, when he was taken off in the 27th minute of a 4-1 loss against Swansea City.
He has featured on the West Ham bench three times since then, doing so for the first time in December 2019, but hasn’t made it onto the pitch.
There is definitely a chance that Reid could have come in and had a positive impact for Bowyer’s side, but considering how long it has been since he played competitively, there is also a chance that it would have taken a while for him to get back into things.
Charlton are currently two places and six points above the relegation zone, so they can’t afford to wait around for someone to start making an impact, they need recruits who can come in and help straight away.
Meanwhile, Charlton fans are split over links with a Premier League striker.