Andy Irving joins Robert Lewandowski as West Ham United loan star smashes in historic hat-trick
West Ham United loanee Andy Irving is set for a return to the UK after he scored a 22-minute hattrick for Austria Klagenfurt on Wednesday (23 April) a feat only bettered by Robert Lewandowski, according to Edinburgh News.
The Scot signed for the Hammers in August 2023 and was instantly loaned back to Klagenfurt for the season.
His hattrick against Red Bull Salzburg was enough to secure a 4-3 win as he registered his fifth goal in his last four games.
Only Lewandowski can boast a faster hattrick than Irving against Salzburg as he scored in 11 minutes for Bayern Munich in 2022.
Barry Anderson reported for Edinburgh News (26 April) that the versatile midfielder will be returning to the UK soon.
He said: “He will head back to the United Kingdom to begin the next chapter of his career in a few weeks.”
Could Andy Irving play for West Ham United?
The 23-year-old has had an untraditional career path which has seen him move from Hearts to SV Türkgücü München and then Austria Klagenfurt.
His career in the Scottish Premiership lasted over four years with various loan spells away from the Maroons. He made 61 appearances for them scoring five goals in that time before he departed and moved to Germany.
After leaving Edingburgh he made the move to play in the Regionalliga Bayern, the highest league of the Bavaria region.
He only made 24 appearances and scored one goal [FotMob] for Munchen before being picked up by the Austrian outfit.
After a season West Ham picked him up in a surprising move before they loaned him back to Austria. He has scored 15 in over 60 appearances for them and looks set to return to the Hammers in the summer.
At 23 it does feel unlikely that he is going to massively improve and play Premier League football any time soon.
It was a strange transfer at the time but a move to a better Austrian Bundesliga side or Germany is likely to better suit him.
In other West Ham news, Vincent Kompany’s name has been mentioned with regards to the Hammers’ job.
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