West Ham have handed Aaron Cresswell a one-year contract extension, according to The Athletic.
The decision to give the 33-year-old a new deal is a surprise as it was widely assumed that he would leave the London Stadium at the end of the season.
While some fans on X could see the thinking behind keeping Cresswell, most don’t believe there is any merit to retaining the left-back’s services:
Makes no sense to me, he's not good enough even for back up anymore
— Chris Hirst (@ChrisTheHammers) May 21, 2024
Probably to do with the home grown quota as well I would imagine.
— Terry Davis (@SuffolkIron) May 21, 2024
We should sign Ryan sessengon instead. Home grown young and on a free probably less wages then cresswell
— Jack H (@WHUFC1066) May 21, 2024
should go for kieran tierney. arsenal don't want him anymore and i think he's quality ✨
— keira (@kitkatkeira04) May 21, 2024
We can't just sell everyone over 30. Ogbonna's going, and Cresswell can still play. We need depth as he's been overplayed. Similar to Evans at United.
— James Reading (@JReadingAloud87) May 21, 2024
Emerson may only have 1 more season as 1st choice though. The trick the good clubs use is buying before you need players. Buying someone to replace Emerson now is a lot cheaper than when you blatantly need a 1st choice LB and everyone hacks the price up
— West Ham Insights (@WestHamInsights) May 21, 2024
West Ham’s limited budget is likely to have played a role in the decision
With Ben Johnson and Angelo Ogbonna already leaving, and others such as Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd and Lukasz Fabianski potentially heading out the door, technical director Tim Steidten knows the club won’t have the funds to replace all of those who are departing.
It means some compromises will have to be made, and keeping Cresswell around for another year means he is one player that they don’t have to replace straight away.
It wasn’t long ago that Cresswell wanted to leave
Wolves made a £2.5m offer for the left-back last summer, and when the bid was rejected, Cresswell wasn’t particularly happy and he reportedly tried to force through a move.
Something seems to have changed over the last 10 months. Perhaps he is hoping for a fresh start when Julen Lopetegui arrives as manager.
