Harrison Ashby rejects West Ham United contract amid Leeds and Newcastle interest – ExWHUemployee
West Ham are resigned to losing academy graduate Harrison Ashby according to ExWHUemployee, with a January sale potentially on the cards.
Despite recently featuring in the first team at West Ham, the Hammers are set to lose yet another academy graduate in the shape of Ashby.
The 20-year-old has spent 12 years with West Ham after joining the club’s youth system aged eight, but is keen to explore other options after seeing his game time limited at the London Stadium.
Newcastle United and Leeds United both showed interest in signing Ashby over the summer, and ExWHUemployee has now revealed via the West Ham Way podcast that he’s set to leave the club.
The report reads: “The club are now resigned to losing Ashby and could look to offload in January rather than lose for nothing when his contract expires at the end of the season.”
A huge loss
After losing Sonny Perkins over the summer to Leeds United, the last thing West Ham needed was to lose another highly-rated gem in January.
David Moyes has to take a large chunk of the blame for not giving Ashby enough game time. At 20 years old it’s hard to blame him for wanting a club willing to give him consistent first-team minutes.
Ashby was only trusted by Moyes in a dead-rubber Europa Conference League tie, and his departure is down to Moyes’ lack of faith.
The board need to wake up to the alarming number of academy prospects leaving the club and make sure that the club is doing enough to progress their younger players and implement them into the first team.
If things don’t change, West Ham will look back in a few years and kick themselves as they watch their former academy stars become world-class talents elsewhere.