West Ham are still hoping that teenage right back Jeremy Ngakia can be persuaded to remain at the club.
Ngakia and his agent have rejected a new contract offer and as things stand he will leave the club at the end of June as the Hammers become involved in the planned Premier League re-start.
ClaretandHugh broke the story that he had been offered a standard deal for academy players who had made the breakthrough to the first team squad.
But he and his agent had decided it wasn’t enough and that as things stood then, and still do, he would not be part of the squad going into July.
However, despite the game looking up on a deal the club are continuing to keep a conversation going with his representatives who were reported as wanting a £20k basic wage for the player.
A London Stadium source told CandH by e mail: There’s no way we can be over hopeful but we are battling on and trying to get a change of mind.”
Is he worth 20k a week after a few games? Yes.
Wilshire 100k a week
Sanchez 60k a week
Yarmolenko 75k a week
Acetic 35k a week
Hugill 40k a week
He might be young but I would rather pay him 20k than some of the others we have wasted millions on.
At least he will have more than £10 sell on compared to these and others….
i agree with you in part, my friend. he’s obviously going to become a quality player but i, as I’m sure others did, noticed some holes in his game. this is normal for a player taken from the academy into the top flight all of a sudden. true, some of those underperforming players have not lived up to the £ afforded them but giving Ngakia more than anyone else coming thru in this way is dangerous for the club. is he better than Declan Rice was at this point? nope. has he proven he deserves more yet? imo, nope. does he deserve more on the basis that he may turn out as good as Declan or as disappointing as some others have been (not naming names)? again, imo….nope.
to cave in to his (agent’s) demands would set a precedent for future players who come through and think they’re better than they are on the basis of “potential” to decide to hold the club to ransom by holding up the Ngakia card. he’s not worth it…
yet.
Disappointing if he leaves but ultimately it’s his decision. He looks a good prospect – he can tackle, get forward and has shown he’s not completely fazed on the big stage. I hope he stays. I suggest he has a word with Reece Oxford and full England international Declan Rice to help him decide if West Ham is a suitable place to realise a young player’s potential. And if a top-6 move doesn’t materialise, I hope his agent stays loyal to the young man. COYI.
I second that Dave.
How much are Masuaku, Cresswell, Fredericks on ? Because frankly, they are all liabilities. With Zabaleta on his way, Ngakia is the only decent full back we have at the club!
And before someone says Ben Johnson… more than happy to give the lad a chance, but his injury record is alarming for one so young. And from what little we’ve seen of both – Ngakia is better.
I think he would benefit greatly from staying as it is working well for him here. It is odd, though, that he’s not considered to be worth £20k (20% of Wilshire’s wage).
All this whataboutery is totally irrelevant. Fans moan about the amount of money thrown about in the club then want us to break an established wage structure. All clubs make mistakes with players. It even happens to the top clubs.Don’t keep citing players on good wages who have been injured. Most of them are international players who would have justified their fees if they remained fit. To equate them with a youngster that’s only made 4 appearances is ludicrous. A lower basic rate and good bonus clauses keep the attention where it should be. The basic goes up in increments every 10 games or similar. At the end of his first full season his basic will have reached his target whilst he still has the benefit of his good bonus clauses. If the lad has so little commitment to our club that it can be bought for another 10 grand basic (which he will probably lose in bonuses) then perhaps he’s not for us anyway.