One of West Ham’s World Cup stars could be on the move after Sunderland tabled a bid of £7 million for Matthew Upson.

Upson played two games for England in South Africa and although he was largely impressive in the first against Slovenia, football betting pundits admit that he was as poor as the rest of the side during their 4-1 hammering by Germany.

Now, just days after the Three Lions returned home, it seems likely that Upson will be on the move. If the reports are correct, it seems highly unlikely the Hammers would turn down a £7 million bid.

After all, the defender is now 31 and only has 12 months left on his contract and the clubs has already indicated that all players, with the exception of Scott Parker, are up for sale.

To be fair to Upson, he probably should have got more playing time at the World Cup. He found himself behind Ledley King and Jamie Carragher in the pecking order. The former, unsurprisingly, quickly became injured and when the Liverpool man was called on it quickly became apparent he was no longer capable of cutting it at the highest level.

Having said that, £7 million is more than a fair price for a player who has peaked and probably only has two full seasons left in him. Better defenders than Upson may be able to play at the highest level well into their mid-30s, but he lacks the touch of class that makes up for fading pace.

It remains to be seen if he will remain part of the England set up after the World Cup debacle, but if I were in charge of the purse strings at the Boleyn Ground I wouldn’t waste too much time mulling over Sunderland’s offer.

If we are in the business of selling players, this is one bid that’s too good to turn down. After all, I won some money placing a world cup free bet on Upson scoring against Germany, so my thoughts on him may have peaked!