Arsenal forward Walcott is seemingly afraid that another season like his last will seriously affect his chances of making the World Cup.
Walcott, aged 28, is well aware he needs regular first-team play if he is to figure in England boss Gareth Southgate’s plans. And West Ham, happy to pay a little over the odds for a player so often on the fringe of the Gunners’ senior side in 2016/17, can give him just that.