Why West Ham parting ways with Jack Wilshere is ideal for all parties
As confirmed via their official website, West Ham have agreed with Jack Wilshere to a mutual termination of his contract at the London Stadium.
The 28-year-old central midfielder had less than 12 months remaining on the three-year deal that he signed while joining the Hammers on a free transfer from Arsenal back in 2018. However, West Ham saw fit to cut all ties with Wilshere, who made only 19 appearances for the club in all competitions in two years.
Profile
Jack Wilshere joined Arsenal’s youth system at the age of nine back in 2001 after starting his development at Luton Town. The Englishman caught the eye across various youth levels for the Gunners before bursting on to the first-team picture during the 2008-09 campaign.
The 28-year-old established himself as a key cog in Arsenal’s midfield following a brief loan spell with Bolton Wanderers in the Premier League. Wilshere went on to make 198 appearances for the Gunners in all competitions, registering 14 goals and 30 assists, while winning two FA Cup titles under the stewardship of Arsene Wenger.
However, the latter part of his career in North London was ravaged by a series of injuries and while Wilshere partly redeemed himself during his loan spell at Bournemouth, the midfielder’s stint at Arsenal finally came to an end in 2018.
A full international for England since 2010, Wilshere has accumulated 34 caps for his nation, representing the Three Lions at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2016. However, he hasn’t featured for England in over four years, with his last outing coming in the last-16 defeat to Iceland in the 2016 European Championship.
Wilshere desperately needed to restart his career elsewhere
West Ham seemed to have pulled off a real coup when they roped in Jack Wilshere on a free transfer, but a string of injuries meant that the midfielder was limited to just 8 PL outings in his debut season at the London Stadium.
Wilshere continued to spend more time on the treatment table than on the pitch during Manuel Pellegrini’s tenure as the manager. And when he did recover from his injury hell, new manager David Moyes hardly offered him a chance to prove his worth.
The 28-year-old has taken to his official Twitter account to reveal that he wasn’t picked to play at West Ham over the past eight months despite being fit and ready for selection. That certainly doesn’t strike the right chords as West Ham somehow avoided relegation last season and a midfielder of his calibre is too good to be warming the benches at a club struggling for survival in the Premier League.
The writing seemed to be on the wall for Wilshere, with David Moyes clearly not having the England international in his plans moving forward. To that end, it wouldn’t have made any sense for West Ham to keep a player costing them £100,000 a week wages on their books for doing nothing.
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Verdict
Jack Wilshere might have had a torrid time at West Ham due to injuries and a lack of game time but at 28, he still has plenty of time on his side to resurrect his career at some other club, hopefully in the Premier League. The former Arsenal man believes he is still good enough to play at the highest level in England, having put his injury issues behind himself.
All in all, Wilshere’s premature departure from the London Stadium seems like an ideal settlement for all parties involved.
