The club have an interesting decision to make over Radoslav Kovac. The Czech International joined on loan in January, with an option to buy him outright in the Summer, and he has done well in his time here, including a nice long-range effort in the Everton game at the weekend.
Of course that option to buy may be cheap enough that there is only one decision to make – for anything under a million Kovac would be a fantastic signing. Great experience, a real physical presence and bite in the tackle, and considerable aerial prowess as well.
If the price was 3 million, then the decision gets tougher. Another aging player with no real re-sale value. And a player with his reputation is probably on a sizable wage. And remember that we already have Scott Parker as our first-choice in that midfield role.
Parker’s continuing absences through injury are a factor though. As is his considerable value in the transfer market. I could imagine a situation where West Ham might be tempted to take a premier price for Parker, and be able to bring in Kovac as the cheaper replacement immediately.
Ideally of course we would want both, but the idea is to develop the squad on a budget. And Dyer, Collison and Noble are also in the mix as central midfielders.
Funnily enough, the decision might be affected by changes elsewhere in the line-up. If an experienced head like Upson or Neill departs from the defence, perhaps the need for established campaigners like Kovac becomes greater.
What do you think?
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