West Ham United are now ‘open-minded’ about allowing defender Craig Dawson the time he needs to make a final decision over his future at the London Stadium, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.
Dawson asked to leave the east London outfit during the summer but remained part of David Moyes’ side past the September 1 deadline.
What is the latest on Dawson?
The 32-year-old was named in the Hammers' Premier League matchday squad for the first time this season as they fell to a 1-0 defeat away to Everton before the international break.
Dawson’s only other two appearances this term have come in the Europa Conference League, making a late cameo against FCSB before starting and scoring in a 3-2 win against Silkeborg.
The former West Brom star was reportedly left frustrated at the end of the summer after a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers fell through.
Moyes and co. were on the lookout for a replacement, after Dawson revealed he wanted to return to the Midlands for family reasons, but missed out to Aston Villa for the signature of Southampton’s Jan Bednarek.
His £52,000 per-week deal will expire at the end of the season, however, meaning Dawson may not have long to wait until he picks his next move.
Yet West Ham remain keen to tie their veteran fan-favourite to a new one-year deal at the London Stadium.
What has Jones said on Dawson?
Jones understands that West Ham are now willing to allow their player the time he needs to make a final decision on his future.
The transfer insider says that Dawson deserves that respect to choose what is best for him.
Jones told GIVEMESPORT: “To be honest, he deserves the respect to take time over this decision and what he wants to do next. From everything I've heard, West Ham are very open minded about that.”
Should West Ham try to keep Dawson?
It is easy to see why the Hammers feel inclined to try and keep the defender at the club as long as they can.
On the one hand, it will ensure they get a fee for him if he does leave either in January or at the end of the campaign.
But Dawson is also a big fan-favourite in east London. He has scored 51 goals throughout his career, including nine in 78 games for West Ham.
Two of those strikes came in last season’s remarkable run to the Europa League semi-finals, including in the quarter-final second leg against Lyon. Michail Antonio labelled him as ‘unbelievable’ during the campaign.
But, ultimately, if the player wants to leave, there is little point in keeping him around longer than he is needed and, at 32, Dawson should be given the chance to move on.