Reo-Coker is ready to roll

30 May 2007

MOVING STORY: Nigel Reo-Coker wants away from Upton Park.

NIGEL REO-COKER is resisting the overtures of Tottenham and playing a waiting game in the hope of a move to Manchester United or Arsenal this summer, writes NEIL TRAINIS.

The West Ham midfielder and club captain handed in a transfer request at the weekend having felt he was not going to be a part of Alan Curbishley's long-term plans at Upton Park.

It is rumoured that Spurs have earmarked the 23-year-old as a potential transfer target but according to the player's adviser Tony Finnigan, his client, who spent last season embroiled in a relegation tussle, is keen on playing for a club in the Champions League.

"I can confirm that Nigel has handed in a transfer request. I am surprised as captain he is being allowed to leave," Finnigan said. "He is going and there is a lot of interest."

A figure around the £9m mark has been mentioned in some quarters as being enough to tempt the east London club to part with Reo-Coker, who last year was within seconds of becoming the first Hammers captain to lift the FA Cup since Billy Bonds in 1980.

Reo-Coker, however, was thought to have been frustrated with the decision of West Ham officials and previous manager Alan Pardew to deny him a move to Arsenal or Old Trafford on transfer deadline day last year and there have been rumours of the player's unrest ever since.

In the subsequent months, Reo-Coker was targeted by a section of the Upton Park faithful, who held him responsible for the club's slump down the Premiership table which culminated in Pardew's sacking. A string of below-par displays were perceived by some to be lethargy on the part of Reo-Coker and he was on the end of vitriolic criticism from former Hammer Julian Dicks who, following the 6-0 New Year's Day Premiership defeat at Reading, insisted he had "spat his dummy out" in the wake of the Hammers' decision not to grant him a transfer.

Finnigan, nonetheless, suggested that Reo-Coker felt the time had come for a new challenge after just over three years at West Ham following his arrival from Wimbledon, and as Curbishley is understood to be planning the future minus a player held in high esteem by numerous top flight managers, it is likely Reo-Coker will begin next season somewhere else.

"At the end of the day he never felt wanted but I am sure he will have a bright future elsewhere," Finnigan said of Reo-Coker, who also received hate mail from supporters.

Manchester United's interest in him may have receded in light of their probable signing of Owen Hargreaves from Bayern Munich but there will be no lack of interest in Reo-Coker, with a bidding war expected in the summer.

n Curbishley was given a boost with the news that Israeli midfielder Yossi Benayoun has signed a new five-year contract, tying him to the Hammers until 2012, and chairman Eggert Magnusson hinted that more signings are imminent.

"We are very ambitious and Yossi is a big part of our plans. I'm very pleased to have agreed terms to keep him at the club for five more years," he said.

"We are looking forward to bringing in exciting new signings but we must also make sure we keep hold of the hugely talented players we already have."

n Veteran defender Christian Dailly has been called up by Scotland for tonight's (Wednesday's) friendly against Austria and the Euro 2008 qualifier with the Faroe Islands on June 6.