West Ham United are now ‘open minded’ regarding the future of defender Craig Dawson, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Summer of uncertainty

The centre-back wanted to leave the Irons over the summer as a result of wanting to be closer to the Midlands for family reasons, though was left frustrated when a move to Premier League rivals Wolves fell through at the last minute.

GSBK and David Moyes were on the lookout for a replacement, but missed out on Southampton’s Jan Bednarek to Aston Villa, meaning that the 32-year-old had to stay put at the London Stadium beyond deadline day.

The Latest: West Ham 'open' to granting Dawson wish

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones revealed that West Ham are now willing to give Dawson time to decide who he wants his future to be with. He said:

“To be honest, he deserves the respect to take time over this decision and what he wants to do next. From everything I’ve heard, West Ham are very open minded about that.”

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The Verdict: Time to move on

Dawson has been a loyal servant to the Irons, having made 76 appearances since joining, but now would be the right time to let him go.

The ‘unbelievable’ colossus, as dubbed by teammate Michail Antonio, is set to be out of contract at the end of the season, so the club need to cash in before then or risk losing him for free.

Asking to leave shows that he feels his future must lie elsewhere, and given the fact that he isn’t getting any younger, an exit would be the best outcome for both parties.