West Ham manager Sam Allardyce claims New Zealand defender Winston Reid has already decided to leave the Premier League club at the end of the season.
Reid is out of contract with the Hammers in the close-season and has so far failed to agree new terms at Upton Park.
Allardyce says the 26-year-old centre-back has decided to further his career elsewhere, with the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and several foreign clubs linked with his services.
“(With) what other managers are telling me it doesn’t bode well. Who knows? Only Winston and his agent can decide at the end,” Allardyce said.
“But from what other people are telling me, what is going on in the world of football makes it difficult to think he is going to stay here.”
Allardyce insists West Ham have put “a million offers” to Reid over the past year, but there has been no progress in persuading him to sign a new deal.
As a free agent in the close-season, the defender, under FIFA transfer regulations, can now talk to foreign sides and could sign a pre-contract agreement.
But he can’t speak to English teams despite Allardyce’s suspicions.
“Can we prove it? We have had them (regulations) for a long, long time. If you can prove that they (clubs) have broken the rules, then they are in serious trouble aren’t they? But you can’t prove it these days. You hear rumours, this, that and the other,” Allardyce said.
“It might have nothing to do with the two clubs directly, it could be between two agents, so how can you relate that (back) to the football clubs? You can’t, so it can all get done that way.”
