Exciting Academy prospect Harrison Ashby comes from a bog footballing family.
His dad Barry Ashby made over 270 appearances for Gillingham as defender over seven years. That also included two Wembley Play-Off Final appearances.
Harrison had quite a few offers from clubs around London as a youngster, joining Chelsea Under ten’s before switching to West Ham.
He started off as winger but converted to an attack-minded right-back and has been a fixture in West Ham United’s U18 squad since the 2017/18 season.
After making his debut at Chelsea in November 2017, three days after his 16th birthday, Ashby was capped by Scotland at U17 level, making his debut in Greece in March 2018.
He made his Scotland U19 debut in a friendly draw with Japan in Murcia on 5 September 2019, before doing likewise for West Ham’s U23s just days later in dramatic fashion.
When a fellow defender pulled out during the warm-up against Valencia ‘B’ in the Premier League International Cup, Ashby sprung into action as an auxiliary centre-back, partnering 15-year-old and fellow debutant Jamal Baptiste to help the Hammers to a vital clean sheet in a 1-0 win.
Ashby’s Premier League 2 debut followed in a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion just five days later, while he continued to play an important role for the U18s, netting a brace in their last game of the season against Leicester.
He made just six appearances at development level – four in Premier League 2 Division 2 and two in the EFL Trophy
Ashby subsequently signed his first professional contract with West Ham in the summer of 2020 making his first-team debut for West Ham in the Carabao Cup second-round win over Charlton Athletic coming on as a substitute on the 84th minute.
He was rewarded with his first senior start for West Ham against Hull City in the 5-1 win in the Carabao Cup midweek playing for 69 minutes on the pitch and looked a fabulous prospect.
He like Jamal Baptiste could be on the verge of a breakthrough to the first team.
