West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce admits the club is finding it hard to tie down Winston Reid.
The New Zealand captain is out of contract next summer and is attracting the interest of bigger Premier League clubs such as Arsenal and Liverpool.
The Hammers are determined to secure last season's Player of the Year to a new deal but Allardyce says it has been a little tricky for all parties to agree terms.
"It is not only a concern for me, but it is a concern for the owners," said Allardyce.
"There's been talk about Winston and his contract for a pretty long period now which is obviously not my responsibility.
"But hopefully, sooner rather than later, that will come to a conclusion and a positive one. I can only hope that is going to be a positive result in the end.
"It's not that he doesn't want to stay. It's about the financial remuneration and whether they can come to the right level and right give or take or negotiation that gets us to a point where he will say, 'Yes'. That's always the hard bit today.
"If we could tie him up tomorrow then I think the owners, particularly, and myself would like that and not have it lingering. It's always a difficult negotiation."
