Is Reading FC’s Liam Moore Heading To West Ham United?

A report in the Daily Mirror today links Reading’s star centre half Liam Moore with a January move to West Ham United. It’s not the first time that he’s been rumoured to be leaving next month, with the Daily Record suggesting a little while back that Celtic are interested in taking him north of the border.

So, what’s in the Mirror report?

Not much really, apart from saying that West Ham need two more centre halves and they’d like one of them to be Moore. Plus, they claim that the Hammers were keeping an eye on the Reading player during the Cardiff game, although whether that’s a scout in the stands or David Moyes putting on Sky whilst eating his tea isn’t clear.

Does this rumour have legs to it? In various ways, it makes a lot of sense. West Ham’s defensive record is pretty abysmal at the moment, and they’ve had a few injury problems at the back this season. Moyes will surely want a solid centre half in the next transfer window, without having to pay a huge amount, and Moore largely fits the bill.

That said, Reading are in a strong position when it comes to keeping Moore at the Madejski Stadium. The man himself clearly loves the club, Jaap Stam rates him very highly (as do all of us), and Moore signed a bumper new deal in the summer that is due to keep him in Berkshire until 2021.

How much would West Ham have to pay for him if Reading did decide to sell? A little while ago we asked you on Twitter, and 78% of you said that the club could realistically hold out for at least £6m - a third overall went as high as £10m+.

That said, I’m I speak for the vast majority of fans when I say that the club should pull out all the stops to keep Moore at the club - he’s a quality, committed centre half who’s undoubtedly a future Reading captain.

Now you’ve read this, read Matthew Cooper’s piece on why keeping Moore is so vital: