West Ham have signed Flynn Downes from Swansea.
The club has announced the signing of the midfielder on a five-year contract that will hold the option of an extra year, making Downes the third signing of the summer after Nayef Aguerd and Alphonse Areola.
Downes has been a lifelong Hammers fan and is now set to wear claret and blue next season after making the move from the Championship club.
The 23-year-old is a former England U20 international and he racked up 37 league appearances for the Swans last season, scoring once and laying on two assists.
The move caps a meteoric rise for Downes, who was bought by Swansea from Ipswich Town. He has made a total of 139 appearances at first-team level since his debut.
Downes described the move as a “surreal” one, as he will now be playing for the club he has supported since he was a boy, and will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Jarrod Bowen by making the step up to Premier League level.
He said: “It’s a surreal feeling to have joined my boyhood Club. I feel like I’m dreaming. It’s been my dream since I was a little boy to join this Club – it’s an absolute privilege. This is my Club, so I couldn’t be more delighted.
“I’m glad to be here and I can’t wait to get started. I want to be the best I can be and this feels like the perfect opportunity to test myself against the very best players in the Premier League.
“Players have come to West Ham from the Championship and progressed to international honours. That’s something you can’t ignore. The manager’s track record of bringing players through was a big motivation in me joining the Club.
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be a West Ham player.”
It is all about opinions, but the best opinions are usually backed up with a little research, thought and reasoned thinking. Initially, I for one wasn’t overly familiar with Flynn but then I remembered him from the Swansea matches that I have recently seen and then it all clicked into place. Young, Talented, Quick, High Energy player… and he is a Die Hard Hammer!
What’s there not to like?
Patrick Viera is showing the potential that he is on the way to becoming a Top Manager and IF Flynn was central to what he is trying to do at Palace and we have just snatched him from under their noses (who said that we weren’t capable of moving fast to tie up deals and who saw that coming?), this bodes well for our up-coming signings.
For too long this club has been involved in transfer speculation with wage-hungry mercenaries. I have a funny feeling that Flynn is going all the way to the top.