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New Zealand defender Winston Reid is out of contract at the end of this season and, after apparently refusing to re-up with West Ham, the All Whites captain is free to begin negotiating a contract with other clubs. There has been interest from Liverpool and Arsenal rumored, but appears that Tottenham Hotspur have won the race for Reid, but at the cost of a £60,000 per week contract.
Reid is reportedly West Ham's second highest earner, behind Andy Carrol, and it was rumored that he would be seeking as much as £75,000 per week in his new contract. The fact that Reid would be joining on a free would allow Tottenham to be a little more flexible with his contract, but £60,000 seems excessive. Jan Vertonghen, for example, makes around £40,000 per week.
Tottenham under Daniel Levy are notorious for their fiscal responsibility. The club tends to only splash out silly money on players that are really good (Emmanuel Adebyaor being the obvious exception). Luka Modric and Gareth Bale were both heavily rewarded for their good performances in a Tottenham shirt before they eventually left. The 26 year-old Reid, on those kind of wages, probably doesn't represent good value for money. If it were £50,000 it would be a little more palatable, but I'm not certain Reid is enough better than any of our CB's to be worth that kind of money.
We all know that these big contracts can sometimes hamstring a club. Obviously, in modern football, £60,000 is going to be an enormous burden on some clubs, but it just doesn't seem like the kind of smart business and footballing decision that Tottenham generally make.