Arter's going nowhere

It looks like some misinformation is being penned about Harry Arter. The Sun has reported that West Ham have made a paltry offer of £5m for Harry Arter and unsurprisingly AFCB are said to have rejected the bid. But the national paper also argues that Eddie Howe has been angry at the valuation that West Ham have offered for Arter, considering that the player is a Republic of Ireland International and is in his third season in the Premier League. But this evening, the Bournemouth Echo has since reported that no such offer has been made by West Ham Utd.

Harry Arter may not be the player that West Ham are targeting after all.

It is true that Arter has not played as often as he would have liked this season, due to injury and the performances of Lewis Cook and Dan Gosling. Still, Harry is a fighter and will have seen his lack of games as a challenge more than anything else. Whether Harry wants to join West Ham is another matter. The 27-year-old may have had talks with Eddie Howe and the club about its future direction when he last signed a contract and I have no doubt that Harry Arter is still an essential part in that plan. 

But could Harry see a move as a way to increasing his wages and perhaps his own development under a different manager at a London club? Coming half way through a season it would perhaps a difficult decision for Harry as he will feel some uncertainty as to whether such a move would be best for him, not knowing where either club will be next May. If an offer were to come in, and he were to go, then AFCB might well feel the need to go into the market themselves, but it's fairly clear that Eddie Howe would rather not do anything in this window and AFCB's resolve not to sell their best players won't be broken easily.