SHARE

According to several reports, West Ham United centre back Angelo Ogbonna is likely to be offered another contract extension when his current deal expires this summer. 

The Athletic reported yesterday evening that West Ham could trigger a clause in Ogbonna’s contract, which will extend his stay at the club for an extra year beyond this season.

The news of this latest rumour will be excellent news for Hammers supporters and having joined the club in 2015, the 33-year-old will be entering his seventh campaign with the Hammers.

The Italian international was one of the first names on the team sheet towards the start of the season, putting in some exceptional defensive performances alongside summer signing Kurt Zouma.

However, the Italian has spent the last six months recovering from a cruciate ligament injury to his knee, which he suffered against Liverpool back in November.

Since then, the centre-back has undergone successful surgery and is now back in ‘light training,’ but will still most likely miss the rest of this season’s games.

A new deal almost seemed inevitable at the start of the campaign, with his current deal set to expire this summer. However, a lengthy spell on the sidelines and his growing age cast doubt over his future in east London.

Ogbonna has played an integral part in helping the Hammers become an established top 10 Premier League side, and more recently he has helped the team push into the top six to gain European qualification.

In just over two years West Ham have gone from being relegation strugglers to Europa League semi-finalists, and the 33-year-old defender has been a key member of the squad throughout.

A contract extension is definitely warranted based on Ogbonna’s performances this season and even if he wasn’t to go straight back into the starting XI, the centre back’s experience and maturity will be valuable to manager David Moyes and the club.