The time to ‘wait and see’ is over for one man at the London Stadium.
One way or the other, it really is time for action.
According to a report over the weekend in The Telegraph, Crystal Palace and Fulham both have West Ham United midfielder Josh Cullen on their radar and could make a move for him this window.
The last two bosses, Manuel Pellegrini and David Moyes, have both spoken about their admiration for the 24-year-old. Indeed, the former said that “without any doubt” Cullen would be a part of the Hammers’ future.
However, so far they haven’t exactly put him in a position to back that claim up, having only made three Premier League appearances so far in his career (and I use ‘appearance’ in the very loosest sense of the term given they were cameo appearances at the end of games).
There is of course the argument that he’s still developing as a player, and that’s why he has been loaned out so much, but at the age of 24 you’d hope that the development stage is over and he’d be ready to make that step up.
Does Cullen have a future at West Ham?
Yes
No
Compare him for instance with Mark Noble (not in terms of ability, just the situation), he had his two loan spells to Ipswich Town and Hull City early on in his career, but eventually he was given his chance to play and play properly rather than just thrown in off the bench.
If he really is set to play a big part in West Ham’s future, then this season really needs to be the time to prove it. If not, then it might be easier to just let him leave. With a contract that runs out next summer, I’d rather let him go now than have him sit on the bench or play with the U23 side and end up losing him for nothing.
