Leeds United have sold former Hammer Sonny Perkins at a significant loss Claret and Hugh have learnt overnight.
Perkins, who joined the West Ham United Academy at Under-14 level, rejected the club’s offers of a professional contract in 2022 and joined Leeds as a free agent much to the club’s disappointment.
At the time of his departure, West Ham released a statement saying
“West Ham United invests millions of pounds annually into its world-renowned Academy of Football – and naturally the Club is extremely disappointed that Sonny has chosen not to continue his development with the Hammers. The Club is disappointed with Perkins’ representatives and strongly believe he was approached to sign for another club which led to him asking to be released from his scholarship at West Ham United.
West Ham United take this matter very seriously – we believe the rules and structures in place at the Football Association and Premier League should be upheld at all times.”
Compensation for his training was set by an independent tribunal with West Ham receiving £2m from Leeds United for Sonny Perkins.
Perkins now age 20 struggled to break into the first team at Elland Road and had an unsuccessful loan spell at Oxford United last year, he joined League One club Leyton Orient on a season-long loan in the summer of 2024 which became permanent yesterday.
While the transfer fee is undisclosed it is widely known to be a nominal fee which one source described as ‘next to nothing’ with a substantial sell-on clause which may never be activated.
That phrase ” be careful what you wish for ” rings a 🔔
I concur with the majority of comments here. I keep an eye on our players out on loan and also those who previously played for us, not many of the latter set the world on fire
Leeds poached Rio Ferdinand off of us once upon a time. So glad Perkins didn’t work out for them.
Yes .. Rio
only played 50 games for them and they doubled their money …
Say what you want about Moyes, but I can’t of a single academy product he let walk who later turned out to be a great player. Alese has been decent at Sunderland when healthy – which hasn’t been often. Otherwise, very little progress once they leave the club.
This is a reflection on how not good a lot of our acadamy prospects are. There’s nigh on the same story playing out right now with Harrison Ashby bombing on loan at QPR. There’s no end of our academy products bang average in the lower leagues.
Didn’t our academy win the FA Cup last year against Arsenal? Must be a few good ones in there. But not everyone is going to be a world beater. Its a numbers game.
It’s too easy for other clubs to be shady and steal young players with big promises of fame and money .
yet another with bad representation only interested in the money never caring about the boys ability to improve Same old sad story letting money rather than ability take its course now it appears they both end up with nothing
So West Ham took the money without shame or regret.
why wouldn’t they ??? he wanted to leave they put money into training him it’s no different from selling any other footballer
👍
They didn’t take any money, they had to go to a tribunal to for the case to be evaluated the same as any other that loses a player of that age under suspect circumstances.