As Gonzo confirmed earlier, former under 18 England Captain and Academy starlet Lewis Orford has put pen to paper for a new FIVE year contract despite there being interest in taking away from West Ham United, both domestic and International clubs being keen to attract him.
To me this is another big statement confirming the club is moving to better place by keeping hold of its future starts (or just future investments ): Even if some of them never make it into first team football and they are sold for modest amounts in the future, it bodes well for the reputation of West Ham’s Academy and the chance of attracting new, big young talent before it costs big bucks – baby pearl diving!
New 5 year deal for Lewis Orford
After the recent haemorrhaging of some of our brightest starlets under the previous regime, with out-of-contract former Academy players Divin Mubama and Ben Johnson signing for Manchester City and Nottingham Forest respectively, this is good news indeed for the club and has to be considered a further vote of confidence in the changes West Ham have made at Both Senior and Academy Coach levels.
One of my major grievances with Moyes was the way he seemed to treat youngsters with disdain instead of nurturing them.
Other out of contract youngsters will hopefully follow suit to ensure that West Ham United’s investment in The Academy of Football continues, towards first team development, rather than the gradual drip of players leaving after feeling there is little chance of progressing into senior football.
Academy observers will no doubt remember Orford being called up to first-team training in November 2023, subsequently travelling with the first-team squad for a Europa League fixture against Serbian side FK STC in November 2023 whilst still only 17.
Perhaps Kevin Keen’s appointment as head of academy coaching has helped too(more on that shortly).
Umm, didn’t Ben Johnson go to Ipswich?
Yes, my bad.. at least you know I am not AI generated! Apologies. Brain says ‘Ipswich’ and fingers type ‘Nottingham Forest’. Typical Southerner, no concept of anywhere north of Milton Keynes
Indeed he did, but don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story!
HONESTLY âšī¸
“Divin Mubama and Ben Johnson signing for Manchester City and Nottingham Forest respectively”
Obviously a typo. A very big one. I mean Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest are easily mixed up! đ
Oh well, we all make mistakes, especially when rushing to finish something late at night.
Yes, my bad.. at least you know I am not AI generated! Apologies. Brain says ‘Ipswich’ and fingers type ‘Nottingham Forest’. Typical Southerner, no concept of anywhere north of Milton Keynes
Mubama hasn’t signed for City…….well, not yet. Bizarre one, that. The consensus of opinion was that he wouldn’t make it in the Premier League, which is why West Ham released him. Johnson, however had only ever been Hammers’ second choice right-back and emergency cover in other positions. He wasn’t promised a regular start for the coming season, so he signed for Ipswich who did. Then they put him on the bench last Saturday against Liverpool.
I think you will find Ben Johnson signed for Ipswich Town and not Nottingham Forrest.