Evan Ferguson has passed his West Ham medical, which will be a huge relief to all who were concerned about the forward’s fitness.
The Irish striker has been troubled by a foot injury for most of this transfer window, with Brighton head coach Fabian Hürzeler claiming the condition was a ‘mystery’ to the Seagulls’ medical staff.
However, Ferguson is now ready to officially join the Hammers until the end of the season from the south coast club having completed the formalities and fitness checks. The usual media shenanigans will be released tomorrow, and the big striker is expected to travel to Stamford Bridge to watch his new teammates play in tomorrow night’s Premier League fixture against Chelsea.
Ferguson will not be eligible to play. The first time Hammers fans are likely to see the big target man should be against Brentford on February 15th.
The forward was keen to join West Ham to link up again with his old boss Graham Potter in an effort to get first-team football. The 20-year-old will provide cover for the injured Niclas Fullkrug, who is expected to be missing until at least April, with Michail Antonio also unlikely to be available for selection anytime soon
Never heard of him before, and are we sure we actually play twenty year olds?
I’m pleased he has passed the medical, but when a player has been out for a length of time they are susceptible to minor niggles and hamstring strains. With our striker luck I fear the worst
I just can’t help feeling something is not right with this deal. It all played out just as reported from the start, and as Brighton wanted it to. Passing the medical is a formality, the next couple of weeks will tell if he is fit or not. The fact that West Ham are playing on the last day of the window is completely meaningless. They knew that was the case from the beginning and they all have cell phones. The recruitment team now has 4 – 5 months to come up with a plan and a shopping list, no excuses.
Good news and although it is reported to be a straight loan it will be interesting to see full details later today. Hopefully an option to buy included depending on the valuation which is set. Sky Sports report that West Ham will cover his wages and a loan fee.
In the meantime reports that JWP has been recalled and his loan at Forest terminated at Graham’s request late last night, after limited playing opportunities. He was left out of the squad in Notts Forest 7-0 thrashing of Brighton at the weekend and will now have the chance to work with Potter for the remainder of the season.
Hopefully some sort of agreement is in place for a permanent transfer… actually, no. Hopefully an option to buy is included rather than an obligation.
If he turns into another Lingard and bangs them in then Brighton could do what Man Utd done and start demanding a ridiculous figure for him so hopefully an option is in place. Likewise, if he turns into another Phillips then being lumped with signing him would be just as bad.
That said, if the mysterious “foot injury” is the case, then it could suggest attitude issues and claiming a false injury as he’s unhappy with his manager. He obviously has a decent relationship with Potter and trust that Potter believes he has a good attitude so could be misplaced but still an air of doubt there…
That’s a proper 1+1=3 statement.
Let’s just deal with facts as they present themselves.
Facts are he’s a centre forward that Potter has worked with and clearly wanted, is ‘fit’ and is risk free.
We go from there, we give the bloke some space and see what happens.
I see no particular downsides to a solution of a very clear problem of having no available effective striker.
We’ll know the full details of Ferguson’s contract tomorrow. West Ham will have waited for the medical report before finalising the deal with Brighton……I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that an option to buy is included.
Really hope we have an option to buy with a set price, but it looks like that’s not the case. Worried we’ll get skinned in the summer, and that’s if he does well!