Revealed: Future of West Ham starlet up in the air over £5,000-a-week demand
The future of West Ham starlet Conor Coventry is up in the air because he is demanding a £5,000-a-week new contract, Football Insider understands.
The Premier League club are in discussions with the 19-year-old about an extension to his current deal, which expires next summer.
A West Ham source has told Football Insider that discussions have yet to result in an agreement because Coventry's representatives are holding out for a deal worth £260,000 annually.
The Hammers hierarchy believe that is too steep for a player with just two first-team appearances under his belt, both of which have come in the League Cup.
West Ham prefer to see evidence a young player can cut it in the Premier League before handing out the kind of contract Coventry is seeking.
The club had their fingers burned by paying Reece Oxford a massive salary while he was still in his teens and before he had really proved himself.
Coventry is a defensive midfielder who plays regularly for West Ham Under-23s and is following a similar path to first-team sensation Declan Rise.
The Republic of Ireland youth international was included in the Hammers' first-team photograph in August and was given eight minutes as a substitute in the 2-0 League Cup win over Newport County in late August.
Coventry was on the bench for the subsequent 4-0 drubbing at the hands of League One Oxford United and has not been named in a Premier League squad this season.
Nearly all of his football has been for the Under-23s, where he is the captain and midfield fulcrum.