Winston Reid to be awarded a new contract come end of season

If you’re not entirely sure that Winston Reid deserves a pay bump at the end of the season, I have a small exercise for you.

Close your eyes and think back. Think back to the Leicester City match. Are you there? Good. Now I want you to remember how you felt seeing Winston being removed from the field. How did you feel about West Ham United’s prospects for the remainder of the season? Bad, right? Yeah, you did.

Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images

Of course the 28 year old from New Zealand deserves a new contract. There shouldn’t be any question about it. Reid has had to put up with a lot over the past few years, particularly during this current campaign. While almost every figure around New Zealand’s 2014 player of the year has changed, Reid has been a constant. As has his play. Sure, he’s given away his fair share of fouls, but overall his play has been stalwart.

So how does he compare against some of the top defenders of the league? We took the teams with the least goals allowed this year and compared Winston to David Luiz, Toby Alderweireld, and Chris Smalling. Three guys who make five times more than Reid. While statistics don’t always show the whole story, it does make for an interesting conversation starting point. Keep in mind, most of these numbers include the injured Angelo Ogbonna.

Just to clear up some statistical differentiation, we used a per 90 minute metric, and not totals, since everyone’s play time was drastically different.

Even if statistics do not tell the whole story, it does give a unique insight into the work Winston Reid is putting in. The partnership with Ogbonna wasn’t perfect but it worked. The shaky duet with Jose Fonte will be effective one day, we just need to be patient. It takes time to adjust to a new system, with new players, particularly on defense. Looking at those numbers alone, you can’t help but realize Winston Reid might be the most underrated defender in the Premier League.

A source close to the club has told the Sun,

“Winston will receive a new contract offer in the summer, he deserves parity. He is highly-valued by the club.

“We want to increase his buyout clause as well, there will be no risks taken to lose him cheap. He has given us so many years of good service and is respected that it’s only fair he’s one of the top earners.”

After 173 appearances for the club, it is the least the Davids’ Gold and Sullivan can do for a man who so often gave everything.