By Saikat Mandal

30th Jan, 2023 | 6:35pm

Medical done: Newcastle United set to announce Harrison Ashby signing from West Ham United

Newcastle United are set to announce the signing of West Ham defender Harrison Ashby, according to Dharmesh Sheth.

The Sky Sports journalist wrote on Twitter (30 January) that the medical is “done” for the right-back, and the official announcement is expected to follow shortly.

He will become the second defender to leave the Hammers this month after Craig Dawson left to join Wolves.

“Medical done. Formal announcement expected soon,” wrote Sheth.

Unlucky

This is one of the transfers that will hurt the Hammers for a long time. 

Ashby is one of the rising young talents in the club’s academy, and once again the Hammers are powerless to prevent top talent from leaving the club. 

The club did make several attempts to persuade him to stay put and sign a new deal. However, he decided to join Newcastle in search of regular football. 

At the moment, the Hammers have enough depth in their right back areas, and David Moyes cannot offer him regular game time. 

He has Ben Johnson and Vladimir Coufal as his two main defenders in that position, while Thilo Kehrer can also play there. 

The club lost another fantastic talent in Sonny Perkins to Leeds United last summer, and it’s a problem the Hammers must address. They cannot simply let their rising stars leave for rival clubs. 

It’s really unfortunate that the player has decided to move on. The Hammers, meanwhile, could look to buy another right-back in the summer if Coufal is sold.