West Ham youngster Veron Parkes could set to leave the club after refusing to sign a new contract according to reports.
The versatile attacker joined West Ham from Crystal Palace in December 2017 at the age of 16, making his U18 Premier League debut for the Hammers at Southampton on 6 January 2018. His maiden U18 Premier League goal in Claret and Blue arrived in a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa at Little Heath on 28 April 2018.
Parkes, who can operate anywhere across the forward line, started the 2018/19 season in prolific form, scoring five goals in his opening four U18 Premier League appearances. That record saw him promoted to the U23s, where he scored on his opening two appearances against Everton and Swansea City in October 2018.
Several clubs are sais to want to sign Parkes after turned down a professional deal in search of first-team chances. He has 11 goals in 14 games for the U18s this season. Celtic, Monaco, New York Red Bulls, Fortuna Sittard & Heerenveen are interested it is claimed.
The news comes as fellow youngsters Benicio Baker-Boaitey and Jeremy Ngakia look set to not sign new contracts with the club.
All these youngsters being lead by the nose by money-grabbing agents, churning up business because they know that the main transfer window is going to be severely depressed. Their nothing more than parasites!
At a time when true professional and highly skilled people around the UK are about to lose their jobs, and have little chance, in the current climate of finding another, it amazes me that 19 year old footballers can refuse a new and improved contract and guaranteed employment. Many footballers are barely literate as demonstated by the ex-footballing pundits on Match of the Day and on Sky. If they could not kick a ball better than the rest of us, they would likely be working on a market stall or flogging mobile phones in a Mall.
Once again this is prompted by greedy agents as was the case with Ince, Defoe, Ferdinand etc. It is time the Premier League licenced these parasites and restricted them to fixed, low, percentage of any deals. They are people with no talent of their own other than a flair for lining their own pockets. I remember Paul Ince’s agent was jailed for fraud a few years later, which speaks for itself.
I am sure the 9000 brilliant people at Rolls Royce, hundreds of airline pilots and thousands of other really talented people, all of whom will soon lose their jobs, would jump at the financial terms of the contract that young Jeremy’s has just refused. He looks to be a talent but, like all of us, has to start a realistic wage and bide his time. If he carries on progressing as Declan Rice has done, his time will come, along with the riches that go with it.