Paper Talk
Athletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone, 44, is stalling on a new contract with the Spanish champions in the hope of landing the Manchester City job.
Liverpool could turn to Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho after being told Roma's £37m-rated Miralem Pjanic is not for sale.
Porto right-back Danilo, 23, will snub a summer move to the Premier League and join Real Madrid for £27m.
Atletico Madrid are keen on Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani, who is also on the shortlist of Arsenal.
Southampton could make a move for Rayo Vallecano striker Alberto Bueno who is available on a free transfer in the summer.
Former Chelsea player Winston Bogarde has thrown his hat into the ring for the vacant manager's job at Sky Bet League One side Oldham Athletic.
Swansea's Bafetimbi Gomis asked to play on after his frightening collapse in last night's loss to Tottenham.
Jordan Henderson is becoming a 'real leader' for Liverpool, insists boss Brendan Rodgers.
Chelsea star Nemanja Matic suffered injury in Sunday's Capital One Cup Final celebrations, reveals boss Jose Mourinho.
Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal sayshe 'cannot imagine' Jonny Evans spitting at Papiss Cisse duirng last night's game on Tyneside.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has admitted that the race for the top four is 'hotting up' after his side's 2-1 win at QPR.
Manuel Pellegrini has claimed that the decision to drop Manchester City skipper Vincent Kompany was not a difficult one.
Right-back Dani Alves, 31, is close to walking out on Barcelona - with Manchester United hot on his trail.
Liverpool and Real Madrid are just two of the clubs interested in £12m-rated Villarreal striker Luciano Vietto, 21, who has hit 11 La Liga goals this season.
West Ham have seen off London rivals Arsenal and Spurs with a £19.5m deal to keep defender Winston Reid at the club until 2021.
Meanwhile, Arsenal are set to end Abou Diaby's injury-plagued spell at the club and either Mikel Arteta or Mathieu Flamini could also follow him to make way for a major summer signing.
Chelsea plan to boost their Belgian contingent with summer swoops for Anderlecht midfielders Youri Tielemans and, 17, and fellow teenager Leander Dendoncker, 19.
Sky Bet League One side Bradford City want to open contract talks with manager Phil Parkisnon in the summer after leading them to the FA Cup quarter-finals after wins over top-flight sides Chelsea and Sunderland.
Lille want to keep Manchester City attacking midfielder Marcos Lopes, 19, on loan for another season.
Chelsea are watching Anderlecht midfielders Youri Tielemans, 17, and Leander Dendoncker,19.
Arsenal have been told to cough up £29.2m to sign Borussia Dortmund ace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Paul Pogba has urged Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira to join him at Juventus after the 19-year-old coaimed to haved turned down a new Old Trafford contract.
Striker Radamel Falcao, 29, will have to wait until May to discover whether Manchester United are to make his loan move from Monaco permanent.
BBC
TRANSFER GOSSIP
Colombian striker Radamel Falcao, 29, will have to wait until May to discover whether Manchester United are to make his loan move from Monaco permanent. (Guardian)
Barcelona defender Dani Alves, 31, is close to joining a new club on a free transfer in the summer, with Manchester United one of the teams interested in the Brazil international. (Sun - subscription required)
Porto's Brazilian full-back Danilo, 23, is expected to reject interest from Liverpool, Arsenal and Man United in favour of a £27m switch to Real Madrid. (Daily Mirror)
Liverpool are considering making a move for Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho, 22, after a setback in their attempts to sign £37m-rated Miralem Pjanic, 24, from Roma. (Daily Mirror)
Serbia defender Matija Nastasic, 21, is likely to make his loan move from Manchester City to Schalke permanent in the summer, according to the German club's general manager Horst Heldt. (Manchester Evening News)
Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham, Southampton and Everton are considering a move for Lyon's 21-year-old defender Samuel Umtiti. (FootMercato.net in French)
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has ruled out a move for Sevilla's Colombian striker Carlos Bacca, 28. (Turnstyle)
Lille want to keep Manchester City attacking midfielder Marcos Lopes, 19, on loan for another season. (Daily Mail)
Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby, 28, looks set to be released this summer with boss Arsene Wenger planning to sell either Mikel Arteta or Mathieu Flamini to clear the way for a major midfield signing. (Sun - subscription required)
Chelsea are watching Anderlecht midfielders Youri Tielemans, 17, and Leander Dendoncker, 19. (Daily Mail)
Villarreal striker Luciano Vietto, 21, is a £12m target for Liverpool - his agent, Jorge Cysterpiller, says Real Madrid also want the player. (Sun - subscription required)
OTHER GOSSIP
Diego Simeone is stalling on a new contract as Atletico Madrid manager - in the hope of getting the Manchester City job. (Daily Mirror)
Bradford City manager Phil Parkinson is set for a new contract to stop him moving to a Premier League side, despite having 12 months remaining on his current deal. (Daily Star)
Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal says he will not bow to fans urging the team to "attack, attack, attack". (London Evening Standard)
Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng, 26, turned down an offer to join Barcelona during the summer. (Bild in German)
Former Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva says Germany international Mesut Ozil, 26, must improve if the Gunners are going to challenge for the Premier League title again. (London Evening Standard)
BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Hull City goalkeeper Steve Harper tweeted his admiration for Fabricio Coloccini's gesture after the Newcastle captain handed the armband to fellow Argentine Jonas Gutierrez on the latter's return after 17 months out with cancer.
Guardian Rumour Mill
Gregg Bakowski
The Mill assumes that Tottenham’s special team of data geeks must be responsible for today’s first bit of flim-flam. Because it’s a little eerie. You see it looks like someone, somewhere at White Hart Lane has run some numbers through a laptop and worked out that the player Spurs need to push them on to the next level is, erm, Harry Kane. Except they already have him. So instead they’ll try to nab the French Harry Kane, Alexandre Lacazette, from Lyon. He’s the swashbuckling young local lad who has plundered the same amount of goals, 24, as the English Harry Kane and who is knocking on the door of the national team’s starting XI. Analytics are fine and all that, but a little creativity in the market wouldn’t go amiss. What about a centre-back? They’ll have to stump up £28m for his services, mind. And we all remember how it worked out the last time Spurs paid that kind of money for a striker?
Which reminds the Mill that Tottenham will have to try and find some poor sap to take footballing Polyfilla Roberto Soldado off their hands. And Emmanuel Adebayor. Good look with that one Mauricio!
Spurs aren’t the only north London team in the market for a rampant goalscorer. No, Arsenal would like to ease the workload on Olivier Giroud, perhaps by easing him out of the door and replacing him with Porto’s Jackson Martínez, who isn’t quite as easy on the eye as the suave Frenchman but who will be a lot busier in attack. It says here that £25.4m has been posted to the Estádio do Dragão, and bean-counters would be keen to accept given that Martínez is approaching 29 and will see his big-money value come to an end, Logan’s Run-style, shortly.
They’ll also try to stop Geoffrey Kondogbia from showing them up again in the Champions League by agreeing a £14.5m deal with Monaco and making the France international midfielder as torn as Natalie Imbruglia in 1997.
And still in France, Lamine Sane, has been taking a look at Liverpool’s midfield and reckons he’d quite like to elbow Joe Allen and Lucas Leiva out of the way and assume the role of Jordan Henderson’s special helper. “It is true that I have always been drawn to England,” trumpeted the Bordeaux captain. “As for a club – Liverpool. I have always said Liverpool, since my first ever interview. It is a club that I really like,” he added, before singing Poor Scouser Tommy, internally, to himself, even adding the ‘All You Need is Rush’ bit at the end.
But Brendan Rodgers has figured out that just having loads of nippy little attackers is all Liverpool need to be rampant Champions League-botherers again. So he’ll pillow-talk John W Henry into parting with £12m for Milan’s Stephan El Shaarawy and ignore the smoke signals from Bordeaux.
Atlético Madrid’s Diego Godin has been busy in the ear of Edinson Cavani and is believed to have persuaded his Uruguay team-mate that Madrid is a nicer place than Paris. PSG will want in the region of £40m for him in the summer, mind. Although it says here that Diego Simeone will be the Manchester City manager by then so who knows who will persuade the board to part with that kind of cash.
Real Madrid are going to Zola-Budd Manchester United out of the way in the race to sign right-back Danilo from Porto. But Louis van Gaal will dust himself off, look at his clipboard, and figure out that it was Dani Alves they wanted to sign all along. He’ll cost them nothing but huge wages when Barcelona tell the Brazil right-back he can do one at the end of the season.
Elsewhere, the brilliantly-monikered Godfred Donsah is attracting interest from Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal, so says his dreamy agent. The 18-year-old Cagliari midfielder has never played for Ghana, though, so there’s about as much chance of him getting a work permit as a 16-year-old promising striker from Mars.
And finally, Winston Reid, having been hot stuff in January and a banker for a big move to a Champions League club after failing to sign a new contract, is staying at West Ham.
Mail
West Ham 0-1 Chelsea: Eden Hazard is heading for the big prize as Blues maintain title advantage with London derby win
Hazard nodded Ramires' cross past Adrian in the 22nd minute to give the Premier League leaders the upper hand
Jose Mourinho's men extended their unbeaten run to seven games
Chelsea maintain their five point lead over Manchester City with 11 games remaining
By Martin Samuel
It is supposed to be to Chelsea’s advantage that they have to leave London only three times in what remains of the Premier League campaign.
Really? Are we sure about that? Arsene Wenger always thought it was harder for a London club to win the league because there were so many derbies, and this match rather supported his theory.
Chelsea still collected three points but, by Jove, it was tough. Their defence was stretched in a way that it was not at Wembley on Sunday and, by the end, Chelsea were happy to hoof the ball forward or run it into corners to take time out of the game.
Adrian dives in vain as Hazard's header sails past the Spanish shot stopper and into the back of West Ham's net
Time stands still as Hazard hammers his header home at Upton Park to seal the game in Chelsea's favour
West Ham have won a single league fixture since Christmas, but it did not look like it here. They had chances, real chances, to wrest the points from the league leaders, and it says much that Chelsea’s prime performers were once again the central defensive core of John Terry, Gary Cahill and Thibaut Courtois in goal.
And Eden Hazard, of course. Always Hazard. He scored the goal, never stopped wanting or carrying the ball, and left the field hobbling, as always, due to a standard battering. Not that West Ham were excessively dirty — Chelsea had four bookings to West Ham’s three — more that a player of Hazard’s ability is always going to attract a certain kind of attention.
The group hug that Terry, Cahill, Courtois and Branislav Ivanovic shared at the end should have included Hazard; in his own way, he is as hard as any of them.
If Chelsea maintain their supremacy, this is one of those games that will be remembered the day the title is won, one of those they-shall-not-pass performances, all bodies flying, desperate lunges and the ball in row Z if needs be.
West Ham were left banging their heads against a wall — no wild metaphor in the case of Cheikhou Kouyate, who ran face first into the back of Terry’s skull late in the second half. Both required treatment, but one came off considerably worse.
Adrian makes an acrobatic save to keep West Ham in the game as Chelsea threaten to extend their advantage
Adrian keeps out another Chelsea attack as he thwarts Diego Costa on a busy night for West Ham's goalkeeper
It is fair to say if they are ever pondering a fresh material to use in the construction of those black boxes in aircraft, Terry’s cranium may have to be considered.
Alas, Diafra Sakho. It is hard to remember a striker getting in so many excellent positions for such paltry return. He knows where to be, he just lacks the clinical touch when he gets there and, thwarted by his own failings and the excellence of Courtois, West Ham drew a blank.
Yes, Chelsea could have scored more, too. This was not a one-sided game — but we expect Chelsea pressure on the goal. They have world-class finishers and magicians in midfield. The surprise was West Ham going toe-to-toe with them, particularly, in the second half. Right up until the last minute they were still heaping on pressure.
Chelsea have matches at Queens Park Rangers and Arsenal, and a home fixture against Crystal Palace, to come, so nobody should underestimate the challenge to their championship ambition contained in a London derby.
This was one of the hardest-fought wins of Chelsea’s season — every bit as much of a proving ground as a wet Wednesday in Wigan, or whatever northern outpost is the current venue for popular cliche.
Hazard is the Premier League's most fouled player this season and he goes down after some attention from Mark Noble
Thibaut Courtois parries the ball with his foot as Nolan closes in during a heart-in-mouth moment for Chelsea's rearguard
Courtois was once again called in to action as West Ham appeal in vain for a handball against Gary Cahill (floored)
Mourinho’s favourite scoreline is apparently 2-0 away. He regards it as the sign of a controlled, confident, emphatic performance in a close game.
They certainly went in search of it here and came very close on three occasions in the second half.
In the 56th minute, a beautiful through pass from Hazard set Ramires clear on goal. He cut inside but his delicate side-footed finish struck the inside of the far post and rebounded into the hands of Adrian.
Minutes later, West Ham’s goalkeeper was in the right place again after Terry found Hazard whose cross picked out Ramires at the far post. This time there was no good fortune.
The save was superb. There were six minutes of injury time due to the Terry-Kouyate collision and Chelsea came close to wrapping it up then.
Hazard broke, for the last time, drawing Adrian yet squaring the ball unselfishly to Willian, whose shot was somehow smothered on its way to the net.
The single goal was the fairer margin of victory, however. West Ham did not deserve to appear mastered in the scoreline after a simply thrilling second half.
Kurt Zouma gets stuck in against Enner Valencia as the centre half continued to play in the holding role in midfield
Cheikhou Kouyate unsuccessfully shoots at goal under the ever-watchful eye of Chelsea skipper John Terry
Cahill attempts to tackle Diafra Sakho as Kouyate is poised to pounce on the loose ball
The first wasn’t bad either, West Ham going close in the 17th minute, when a cross from Mark Noble found a dangerous area at the near post where Kevin Nolan caused localised chaos and Kouyate arrived late only to have his shot blocked by the shins of Courtois.
Two minutes later, a run by Enner Valencia opened a gap to slide a pass through to Sakho, who missed his kick. More frustration was to come. In the 37th minute, Carl Jenkinson crossed from the right and the ball dropped perfectly to Sakho, directly in front of goal, but planting his header into the ground, landing safely in the hands of Courtois.
After 53 minutes, Courtois saved from Sakho again, pushing out a shot one-handed, just the right side of Nolan. He saved from Sakho after 60 minutes, too, and when he finally spilled a Valencia shot 12 minutes later, the outstanding Cahill cleared as Sakho threatened in vain.
It was not all wastefulness by West Ham, though. In the 15th minute, a mix-up by Ivanovic saw Valencia about to speed past Terry and go through on goal.
The ever-alert Cesc Fabregas probes into West Ham territory with Valencia and Mark Noble close by
West Ham were forced into an early change as Winston Reid pulled up in the eighth minute with James Collins coming on in his place
Mourinho and Allardyce share a moment prior to kick-off on a crisp night in east London
The Chelsea captain weighed the odds in a split second and hauled him down, rugby style. Did he prevent a goalscoring opportunity? Probably. Did he play the percentage chance of referee Andre Marriner showing him a red card 30 yards out and early in the match, with Cahill covering, if not really in a position to stop? Undoubtedly. Did he get away with it? Yes. Yellow card. It was a cynical move, but the smart one, too.
It was seven minutes later that the winner was scored. To be beaten by a header playing Chelsea is no disgrace; when the man on the end of the ball is Hazard, however, a manager has a right to be aggrieved. Sam Allardyce certainly looked it as the Chelsea man completed a headed goal that was as casually taken as a tap-in, with West Ham’s defence appallingly lax.
James Collins had replaced the injured Winston Reid after five minutes, but that was no excuse. The back four had plenty of time to bed in but went to sleep doing so. It was a neat build-up involving Hazard and Cesc Fabregas, who slipped the ball to Ramires overlapping on the right. He had too much room and cut the ball back to leave West Ham flat-footed, Hazard sneaking between the statues to glance a stooping header past Adrian.
It was too easy, and it is hard enough to beat Chelsea already — a point Allardyce seemed to be making on the touchline.
MATCH FACTS
WEST HAM (4-3-1-2): Adrian 7; Jenkinson 6, Tomkins 6.5, Reid (Collins 7, 6), Cresswell 6.5; Noble 6.5, Nolan 6.5; Downing 7, Kouyate 7 (Nene 87), Valencia 7; Sakho 7.
Subs not used: Jarvis, O'Brien, Demel, Jaaskelainen, Song.
Manager: Sam Allardyce 6.5
Booked: Kouyate, Collins, Nolan
CHELSEA (4-3-3): Courtois 7.5; Ivanovic 7, Cahill 7, Terry 7, Azpilicueta 6.5; Zouma 7, Fabregas 7; Ramires 7, Oscar 7 (Willian 74), Hazard 8 (Remy 96); Costa 7 (Drogba 90+3)
Subs not used: Cech, Luis, Cuadrado, Loftus-Cheek.
Manager: Jose Mourinho 7
Booked: Terry, Hazard, Fabregas
Goal: Hazard 22
Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)
Attendance: 34,927
Mail
Diego Costa escapes punishment despite appearing to strike Aaron Cresswell during Premier League win over West Ham
Chelsea striker Diego Costa was involved in incident with Aaron Cresswell
Referee Lee Mason did not take any action against the Spain international
By Anthony Hay
Chelsea striker Diego Costa was involved in yet another confrontation on Wednesday as he appeared to strike Aaron Cresswell during his side's 1-0 win against West Ham.
Costa, who was not punished for the incident, has a reputation for trying to unsettle his opponents by throwing his weight around.
The 26-year-old striker escaped the attention of Premier League official Lee Mason, who failed to see the severity of the incident.
Chelsea striker Diego Costa appeared to raise his hand in the direction of West Ham's Aaron Cresswell
Cresswell felt the force of Costa's right arm during Chelsea's 1-0 win against the Hammers at Upton Park
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce warned his players against trying to provoke or intimidate Costa ahead of the fixture at Upton Park.
'I think trying to wind Costa up only makes him better – which is a silly thing to do,' said Allardyce.
'He will take a bit of shackling. We can't get involved with him. I've told our central defenders not to get involved with the fact he might try and upset them.
'He's an old-fashioned type of centre-forward because he seems to like getting motivated on the physical and niggle aspect of it all. I've told them not to get involved in that and get distracted, simply to focus on him in the final third.'
Guardian
Eden Hazard goal edges Chelsea past West Ham to maintain league lead
Dominic Fifield at Upton Park
The scene at the final whistle told its own story. Chelsea players, as relieved as they were elated, converged in small groups in front of those massed in the lower tier of the Sir Trevor Brooking stand with the clenched fists and bellowed celebrations betraying the significance of success. Claiming the Capital One Cup at Wembley, and with it the first major silverware of José Mourinho’s second coming, is one thing. Emerging victorious from a derby as brutal as this to retain authority in the title race arguably meant so much more. The manager was probably only half joking when he admitted he might lie in until midday to recover.
This was blisteringly frenetic, the visitors stretched horribly at times by a West Ham United side who had won only once in 10 matches and were apparently witnessing their own promising campaign dying a death. At times the leaders heaved to contain the Hammers, with Sam Allardyce’s team direct and relentless, pouring forward with Diafra Sakho spurning at least four clear opportunities and Thibaut Courtois, restored after Sunday, maintaining his finest clean sheet yet as a Chelsea player.
That Chelsea’s only goal was perilously close to being ruled out for offside, with West Ham also left to bemoan the non-award of a penalty for handball against Gary Cahill, merely reinforced the sense that this was a decisive moment in the title race. Chelsea remain five points clear with a game in hand against the club who currently prop up the division. Theirs remains a position of strength.
It was certainly the kind of nail-biting win with which titles are claimed. West Ham had posed a different kind of threat to Tottenham Hotspur at the national stadium, with this team laced with pace and eager running when spurred on in a hostile atmosphere, and Enner Valencia and Sakho a constant menace.
The absence of the suspended Nemanja Matic was keenly felt throughout by the visitors, even if Mourinho subsequently revealed that his Serbian midfield shield had managed to twist an ankle while celebrating Sunday’s success out on the pitch and would not have been available to feature here even without his ban. “He had shinpads on but he didn’t have tape on,” said the manager of Matic, who had joined his team-mates on the pitch at Wembley post-match. He could deliver that anecdote through a smile given the injury is minor, but also because his available lineup had triumphed regardless.
Psychologically, it would have been damaging had the slender lead secured by Eden Hazard’s goal midway through the opening period been surrendered amid West Ham’s avalanche of second-half chances. Courtois had risen to the occasion superbly, clawing away from the grounded Sakho’s prod, then diving sharply to his left to deflect the striker’s effort behind. His saves in the first half had been just as eye-catching, the Senegalese forward nodding Carl Jenkinson’s right-wing cross firmly down for Courtois to push away, while Cheikhou Kouyaté’s close-range attempt was blocked with his shins.
When the Belgian did spill Valencia’s attempt, Cahill dived in to suffocate Sakho’s follow-up. The visitors were stretched, the threat charging at them from all angles with John Terry booked early and less at ease against slippery opponents whose energy levels never dipped. Allardyce bemoaned rare profligacy. “The way they play, nobody is better than them,” said Mourinho. “We faced some periods where we had to defend with everything.”
Their own threat was mustered on the counterattack, with their approach as ruthless as West Ham had been relentless. Kevin Nolan was still wondering how he had failed to make contact with Jenkinson’s centre when Chelsea broke at pace, Cesc Fàbregas exchanging passes with Hazard on the edge of the West Ham penalty area before slipping the overlapping Ramires free.
The home side were still adjusting to the hamstrung Winston Reid’s early departure, with the Brazilian’s centre whipped across the six-yard box and met emphatically by Hazard, who planted his header beyond Adrián. The playmaker appeared to have been marginally the wrong side of Aaron Cresswell and Jenkinson, the deepest of West Ham’s ramshackle back-line, but the assistant’s flag was not raised. Mourinho may consider good fortune had been with his team on this occasion.
They should have prospered further on the counter, Jenkinson conjuring one wondrous last-ditch tackle to thwart Diego Costa as he prepared to bury a second and Ramires, twice found by the brilliant Hazard, striking post and the goalkeeper’s outstretched foot. Cresswell somehow cleared Willian’s attempt from the line in stoppage time, but those missed opportunities merely added to the drama, both managers reduced to gibbering wrecks in their technical areas by the frantic majesty of the contest.
“It would have been easy to have lost two points here,” added Mourinho. “We were on edge to the end because we couldn’t kill the game off, but in the end it was a massive win for us.” The title remains theirs to lose. Come May, they might just reflect on that win down the District Line as the moment the championship had started to feel properly within their grasp.
Winston Reid delighted to agree new £60,000-a-week deal at West Ham until 2021 after drawn-out contract talks
Reid has signed a new six-and-a-half-year contract at West Ham
New Zealand defender expresses delight at securing long-term future
26-year-old had been linked to moves to Arsenal and Tottenham
By Adam Shergold
Winston Reid has expressed his delight at signing a new contract with West Ham and said their imminent move to the Olympic Stadium was a big factor in his decision.
The New Zealand defender put pen to paper on a six-and-a-half-year contract worth £60,000-a-week.
And the 26-year-old, whose contract was up in the summer and had been linked with moves to Arsenal and Tottenham, is pleased to have his future tied down.
STORY: We are delighted to announce that @WinstonReid2 has penned a new long-term deal with the club. #WHUFC #COYI pic.twitter.com/f5seO74njr
— West Ham United FC (@whufc_official) March 5, 2015
He told fanbookz.com: 'Obviously I'm absolutely delighted to have signed a new contract with West Ham. I've enjoyed my time here, and I just needed to make sure that the decision was a right one for me and my family.
'There were a lot of factors that I took into account when I was making my decision, but most importantly I felt that I was valued at the club - we will be improving in future seasons and I really feel at home here.
'With regards with the decision that I've had to make, I had to be sure that it was going to be a place that I was going to be for the next few years of my life, so I have to feel at home and I feel welcome here, I enjoy living in London and my family is settled so that was the most important thing I had to think about.'
Reid took his time in making a decision but clearly feels his future lies with the club having made 27 appearances across all competitions this season.
He added: 'It might have been frustrating for the fans to have it drag out for so long, but whenever I've been asked this question over the past few months it's just been when we've been negotiating.
'You don't sort something out in the course of one day, there's always got to be some sort of give or take when doing these things.
'There was no big drama towards it, and there was a lot of stuff in the press that was misleading with regards to my situation, but the main thing is that now we've got it sorted.
'Both the club and I were keen to do something, and I'm happy to be staying here. Speaking to the chairman it was clear that the club is on the up, we've been getting better this year but we were realistic about the club and where it's at currently - there's a lot that we can still improve on, and that was the main thing.'
West Ham currently sit ninth in the Premier League standings following a vastly-improved campaign in contrast to the travails of Sam Allardyce's side last year.
Reid said: 'As long as we all work hard to improve ourselves each day we will get better, and that was the main objective - we want to get the club further up the league and I'm sure that we will in the coming years.
'Moving to the Olympic Stadium was a big factor for me in staying at the club, but it wasn't the deciding part of the deal - it was just one of many positive points. I'm looking forward to playing there, and it's going to be a massive opportunity for us as players and fans of the club to move to such a great facility.
'The deciding factor for me really was where I felt at home and how settled I felt with my family - I am happy here at the club and I wasn't going to stay here if I wasn't happy - it took a bit of time but I'm glad we got there in the end.'
Reid joined West Ham from Danish club FC Midtjylland in 2010 and has made 121 appearances for the club.
