With reports surfacing that West Ham have turned down a £5m bid from Sunderland for Stewart Downing, the question to be asked now is: Should we accept an improved offer of around £7m for a player who turns 31 next month?
Downing flattered to deceive in his first year at the club but started last season superbly after his switch of position to a more central role, at the tip of the diamond.
That form earned him a brief re-call to Roy Hodgson’s England squad but performances in the second half of the season tailed off. Perhaps it was due to a bit of fatigue? Plus being moved back out to the wing again didn’t seem to help.
In years gone by I would definitely be tempted to take the money for a player of his age but times have changed at Upton Park. The club is not in a position where it has to sell to wheel and deal in the market anymore with the move to the Olympic Stadium now just a year away.
Downing is still a very good player and offers the squad a few different options with his versatility. With the club looking to build on the current squad and with potentially a lot more games to play this coming season, I don’t see the sense in getting rid of the player unless a ridiculous offer of £10m plus comes in.
By all means the club should look for potentially better options for the first team, like French international Dimitri Payet, who will hopefully sign in the next few days but you never really know how players coming into the team from abroad are going to settle down.
With Downing still here as a squad member, we know we are going to get solid, reliable performances on the whole from an experienced Premier League player, plus he can also guide some of the new faces that join.
Bilic needs to be careful with this squad. We are not going to become one of the Premier League big boys over-night. It needs to be a patient process with a few signings in each transfer window that edges the squad a bit further each time.
With that in mind, Stewart Downing should stay as he is currently still a very important player in the present for this club.
