West Ham reject £2.5m NUFC bid for Tomkins

Newcastle have had a £2.5m bid for West Ham defender James Tomkins turned down according to reports in the national press.

Both The Star and The Mirror claim that we've bid for the 22-year-old although given the age of the defender, the importance to West Ham of gaining promotion this season, and the fact that he is English (not that it should matter, but it does) has resulted in the bid not being deemed sufficient enough.

Of course we could lodge increased bids in the future, but I get the feeling it will take somewhere near double what we've offered to get the Hammers to do business with us. Maybe if we throw Alan Smith into the deal they'll look at things more favourably? I jest of course as nobody would seriously consider signing Alan Smith would they?

Anyway, Tomkins has been at West Ham since the age of seven and has made 78 first team appearances during his time at Upton Park. He is more commonly known as a centre-back but he can play equally as well at right-back, which is rather interesting given the current situation with Danny Simpson's contract. James has also featured for England at every level from U16 to U21.

Personally I really rate the lad and think he would be right up our street. He can play in a couple of positions, has Premier League experience, has age on his side and wouldn't command a fortune in wages. He's even had his fair share of injuries throughout his fledgling career. Essentially he ticks every single box of what it seems as though the club look for in a deal.

Tomkins has two years left to run on his current deal and is in talks with West Ham over a new contract although negotiations appear to have reached an impasse and with Sam Allardyce insisting that the Essex boy is a key part of his future plans you'd have to think there is a chance that a deal between the two parties can be reached.

It's all just speculation at the moment though and I wouldn't put too much credit in these reports. They are after all from the red top brigade so they hardly come with a glowing track record of being on the money. I would like our interest to be real but we'll see what happens.

Maybe Stevie Taylor, his former England U21 Captain, can have a word with him!