West Ham cleared to sign 26-year-old on free transfer

West Ham United have been handed a major boost to their pursuit of Reiss Nelson as he’s just had his contract terminated by Arsenal.

The 26-year-old is now available as a free agent following yesterday’s confirmation that Arsenal have decided to let him go.

This has been officially announced on Arsenal’s official site, and it follows Nelson being linked with West Ham for much of the summer.

BBC Sport have previously reported on the Hammers being in talks to sign Nelson, so now that he’s available on a free they will surely be among the clubs interested.

For now, however, there have not yet been any concrete updates on where the English winger could be moving to next.

Reiss Nelson’s up-and-down career with Arsenal

Nelson looked like a real wonderkid when he first started to make a name for himself in Arsenal’s academy, which has also produced stars like Bukayo Saka, Myles Lewis-Skelly, and Max Dowman.

However, despite loan spells with the likes of Hoffenheim, Feyenoord, Fulham, and Brentford, Nelson never quite managed to do enough to impress and gain a regular role at Arsenal.

Nelson now leaves the Emirates Stadium with a record of eight goals in 90 appearances, and he’ll no doubt be fondly remembered by Gunners fans for that famous late winning goal against Bournemouth in the 2022/23 season.

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AFC had been 2-0 down in that game but got themselves level, before Nelson struck a superb powerful effort in the dying seconds to deliver all three points.

What next for Reiss Nelson?

Despite his obvious talent, Nelson just hasn’t been consistent enough and there’s always been a lot of competition for places at Arsenal, so he’ll now have to rebuild his career elsewhere.

West Ham could be a good destination for him, as a drop down to the Championship might be an ideal way to get out of the spotlight a bit and get some regular playing time under his belt.

WHUFC are also promotion hopefuls, so moving there could still mean he soon has the chance to play in the Premier League again.