Craig Dawson passes Wolves medical, West Ham ‘deal done’ for multi-million exit – Fabrizio Romano
Craig Dawson will soon be unveiled as a Wolverhampton Wanderers player after completing his medical on Saturday [21 January] and signing his new contract with a £3.3m deal completed, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The 32-year-old has held ambitions to leave the London Stadium since last summer, with the defender hoping to be closer to his family in the West Midlands.
The Hammers have blocked the move ever since but finally caved when a £3.3m fee was agreed [20 January] upon with their Premier League rivals.
And Romano taking to his personal Twitter account [22 January] revealed the news that the 32-year-old is set to depart the London Stadium with his medical already taken place and his contracts signed.
He tweeted: “Craig Dawson to Wolves, contract signed and medical completed yesterday – deal done with West Ham for £3.3m fee.
“Dawson will be unveiled as Wolves player on a contract valid until June 2025.”
Big blow
In what’s been a rather testing and difficult season for the Hammers, currently sitting outside the drop zone on 18 points and in desperate need of some quality and leadership to shoot them up the league table losing Dawson to their rivals comes as a damaging blow to the club and David Moyes.
It will be interesting to see who Moyes turns to now, though, Kurt Zouma, Angelo Ogbonna and Nayef Aguerd proved a rather three-man solid partnership in the crucial 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday [21 January] and that might be the formula Moyes turns to in order to kickstart their season.
Dawson, who arrived at the London Stadium from Watford in 2021, following a loan spell, has become a hugely influential figure in the Hammers dressing room and on the pitch too, making 87 appearances and scoring an impressive nine goals in all competitions.
It’s totally understandable, his wishes to move closer to his family in the Midlands, it’s just a huge shame it is a rival in Wolves.
Moyes’ defence will be further depleted without the 32-year-old veteran, which means the Hammers will of course need some reinforcements very soon.
More crucially, someone will certainly have to step up in Dawson’s place as both a leader and a vocal influence in the Hammers’ back-line.