West Ham warned of ‘dangerous precedent’ after Zouma update via Athletic – Campbell
West Ham would be setting a “dangerous precedent” if they paid Kurt Zouma £125,000-a-week, according to Kevin Campbell.
The former Arsenal and Everton striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, suggested the likes of Declan Rice, Michail Antonio and Tomas Soucek would be aggrieved if the Chelsea defender was given such a salary by Irons chiefs.
Fabrizio Romano revealed on August 24th that the Hammers are close to completing the signing of Zouma with negotiations now in the final stages.
According to The Athletic‘s David Ornstein (August 23rd), the Frenchman has told the Hammers his wage demands are £125,000-a-week.
It is said to be more than the centre-half is currently on at Stamford Bridge and would make him the top earner at the London Stadium.
When asked by Football Insider‘s Dylan Childs if making Zouma the top paid player at the club could prove problematic, Campbell said:
“It’s a dangerous precedent to set because the likes of Michail Antonio, Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek are going to be like, ‘Hold on a minute.’ Those guys have been unbelievable for West Ham of late.
“If you want to bring in a player like Zouma from outside and then pay him the money that Rice and Antonio believe they should get then you are causing problems for yourself.
“I think West Ham need to tread very carefully when it comes to this one.”
In other news, pundit tips West Ham to pull off ‘superstar’ signing in the next week amid major update.