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It emerged yesterday that West Ham were preparing to offer on-loan defender Pablo Armero a permanent deal in the summer, despite not yet featuring for the first team.

The wing-back has reportedly impressed both the management and the players during training and is said to completely understand Allardyce’s inability to change a winning team.

But a source close to West Ham has told Claret and Hugh blog that the club is already looking to get a permanent deal done for Armero, as Allardyce begins his preliminary plans for Premier League football next season.

The unknown source said: “Pablo is a very impressive young man and already very well liked in the dressing room.
“He has kept his head down and showed great ability on the training pitch and looks a good long term prospect and he understands that it’s tricky changing a winning team.”

It’s believed Armero is being lined up as the long-term replacement for George McCartney, who turns 33 in April, and his reported £40,000-a-week wages demands will not prove to be a problem.

If these reports are indeed true, then it appears the widespread belief that Sam Allardyce will leave the club in the summer are false and that the David Gold and David Sullivan are prepared to back their man in the transfer window in order to avoid another relegation scare in the Premier League, as well as help boost our chances of challenging in the top-half of the table ahead of our move in to the Olympic Stadium.

What do you think? Is it good that the owners are prepared to back Allardyce in the summer ahead of next season? Is the club taking a gamble on preparing a permanent deal for Armero without him making a first-team appearance yet? Leave your thoughts below in the comments section.