Andy “Swerving” Irving came off the bench to create West Ham’s equaliser at Old Trafford on Thursday night, raising fresh questions about his availability for sale in January.
The Scotland international was heavily pursued by both Glasgow Rangers and Celtic in the summer and came within a whisker of joining Wrexham on deadline day. However, a disagreement over wages scuppered the move, leaving him at West Ham, where Graham Potter offered him little in the way of opportunities.
Everything changed following the arrival of Nuno Espírito Santo, who pledged to give every player a chance. Nuno has been true to his word — unless your name happens to be James Ward-Prowse — and Irving quickly became one of the early beneficiaries, starting back-to-back matches against Brentford and Leeds.
Unfortunately for Irving, his midfield partnership in those games resembled a horror show played on half-speed, and until Thursday’s lively cameo at Old Trafford, he had seen very little action since.
That said, the midfielder could feature against Brighton today if Espirito Santo decides to shuffle his team due to fixture congestion.
Transfer Stance Remains Unchanged
So Claret & Hugh contacted our top transfer source to find out whether Irving’s situation had changed. The answer was clear:
“No, he can still leave along with Rodríguez and Ward-Prowse. West Ham are trying to move a few on, but Irving will want regular football to push for the Scotland squad.”
Despite the rise of Soungoutou Magassa, West Ham are still believed to be looking at an additional midfielder for cover if all three depart during the transfer window.
“The club are expecting some interest in him,” was the final word from our insider
Let’s hope something happens with this, Irving has a great attitude though clearly not a first team starter we should see if we can also shift JWP up to Scotland he would be great at Celtic or Rangers