Valencia’s comments end West Ham’s hopes of engineering cheeky January move

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Manchester United club captain Antonio Valencia has stated his desire to remain at Old Trafford until the end of the season, as per the Times.

They report that even if United don’t extend the defender’s current contract beyond the end of the season, he will see it out, ruling out the prospect of a January depature.

That spells bad news for West Ham, who were last month linked with a cheeky swoop for Valencia to provide cover and competition for Pablo Zabaleta.

The Times report that Valencia would likely have been available this month if Jose Mourinho had remained in charge but the recent upturn in fortunes under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has convinced him to see out his deal.

With Zabaleta reportedly considering retirement at the end of the season, Valencia could still be an option at that juncture.

And with the Hammers enjoying a good spell of form of late, they do not need to gamble and add another high earner to their ranks.

But Valencia may have offered greater energy on the right hand side of their defence, as well as a makeshift option out on the wing as West Ham struggle with a midfield injury crisis.