Given what’s happened since it seems bizarre that Josh Cullen was ever allowed to leave the club with whom he grew up.He simply couldn’t nail a first team place under either Pellegrini or Moyes – spent two loan spells at Charlton, one at Bolton and another at Bradford.
Many believed he would be eventually nailed on as Mark Noble’s successor for the midfielder who can play in either a defensive or attacking role.
Instead – despite helping Charlton to promotion before returning to the Irons – he was eventually allowed to leave with Belgian giants Anderlecht coming in for him. 99
He has since proved himself to be the player many believed him to be during his Irons days making 34 appearances last season and none this term for his new club.
And despite finding it hard – like most – to leave his boyhood club Josh has been explaining exactly how delighted he is to be in Belgium and why he decided to move abroad.
Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: “I’m loving it, to be honest. It’s been a really enjoyable last year or so. Thanks to everyone at the club and everyone in Belgium that I’ve come across for making me feel so welcome in my first year at the club.
“It felt like the right time to move on, and I only look back on my time at West Ham with fond memories. I’m just grateful to everyone at the club.
“It’s never easy [to leave West Ham], but the decision was made a bit easier when you have a club the size of Anderlecht come knocking.
“When you have a club the size of Anderlecht – with the history it has and the ambition the club has for the future, and you see the players that have come through the club and the Belgium League – it was an opportunity that I was really excited by and one that, to be honest, was probably too good to turn down in my own head.”
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