Rio to return

The Daily Star said on Sunday that Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand would be given the chance to return to West Ham Untied this summer if he decides to leave his current club when his £130,000 a week contract ends. He still hasn't signed an extension and the closer it gets to the summer the more speculation there will be about his future.

If he's going to be leaving Manchester United then he'd probably be looking for an attractive proposition and not just something which 'would do'. Ferdinand's England ambitions for next year's World Cup look even more fragile than they did a few weeks ago and therefore a move outside of the country would appear to be what may suit him best. MLS would love to have Rio and his head for marketing, he'd happily be a great ambassador for the league and football in America.

The Middle East is also a possibility, but surely Ferdinand would think it too early to wind his career down that much. A European move could be questionable but if PSG are handing out contracts like the one they did to Beckham, then Ferdinand would probably be a better bet for them, on the pitch at least.

He's literally got the world to choose from if he leaves Old Trafford, so why West Ham?

He came through the ranks at the London club, it's his boyhood local club and his brother Anton also turned out for them. It'd be wrong to say the fans there love him, but he hasn't got the grief that some returning players like Frank Lampard have 'enjoyed'.

The financial aspect has to come into it and it's a wonder how much West Ham United would be prepared to pay Rio Ferdinand. He'd no doubt want more than a single year deal and are the Hammers really going to commit northwards of £80,000 a week to the player for two or three years, when they are well aware he wouldn't be able to pay every game?

Free transfers are anything but that and getting Ferdinand for 2 years on £80,000 a week would cost the club around £8.5m, and that's before agent fees. It'd be a tough ask for the London club as they plan to move into the Olympic Stadium, they'd probably want to pay him less and seeing as Ferdinand could command a better wage elsewhere, he'd be giving up a chunk of money out of the express wish to play for West Ham, and is he likely to do that?

West Ham certainly want him, Sam Allardyce was quoted by the Daily Mail in October as saying "If it’s at the end of the season and he hasn't got a new contract and he is released by Manchester United, then we would be interested.

"If he wants to live back in London eventually, which is where he comes from, which you know quite a few players want to do when they come to the end of their careers, that is an advantage for us.

"It depends entirely on Rio or which other clubs might be interested in him."

The Daily Star in their article also carry Ferguson's recent comments saying that Ferdinand has until the end of the season to commit to Manchester United. The Premier League leaders have been continually linked with defenders who would appear to be taking the place of Ferdinand, so the club probably want time to be able to finalise one of those deals.

Ferdinand has eight games to decide, negotiate and complete his new Manchester United contract. If he was really going to stay would he have left it so late?

West Ham may not be willing to provide the finances for a deal, but the possibility is certainly opening up. Ferdinand could return to his local London club for a year or so, simply out of a desire to do so and shun a huge last big payday elsewhere.