Winston Reid is expected to return to full West Ham United training this week after featuring for Manuel Pellegrini’s side during pre-season.
According to a club source, cited by Claret & Hugh, the 31-year-old has been receiving specialist training throughout the pre-season period but will now begin training with the first team at Rush Green.
Reid shared an Instagram post with his followers after returning to the field against SCR Altach in Austria last month and has since been building up his fitness for the 2019-20 campaign.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzyp8ErBJYf/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzyp8ErBJYf/
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The New Zealand international is contracted to West Ham until 2023 and therefore isn’t expected to give up on his Hammers career easily. He certainly adds quality to Pellegrini’s defensive options and should play a part this season.
You would expect Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena to continue as the first-choice centre-back partnership, but Reid and Ogbonna – as well as Goncalo Cardoso once his transfer goes through – provide suitable back-up.
Nine years and 222 appearances since joining West Ham, Reid is well-respected at the club and will have a positive impact on and off the pitch. So will he be important to the squad this season? I think he will be.
It’s easy to get lost in the flair on show in the form of Felipe Anderson and Pablo Fornals, but every club should be built on a sturdy defence full of strong characters and Reid is certainly one of them.
