Reliable source claims West Ham 21y/o could face permanent January exit
West Ham arguably have one of the best crops of exciting young talent in the country right now.
The most obvious example of this is Declan Rice, but beyond the first team picture, players like Nathan Holland, Conor Coventry, Josh Cullen, and Ben Johnson also suggest that the club should be able to continue their tradition of promising starlets making it through the ranks to the first team for years to come.
The best way to ensure that happens, however, is to allow these young players the opportunities to go out and get regular first team minutes under their belts with loan spells.
We’ve seen the potential success of that policy with the consistently impressive performances of Josh Cullen for Charlton Athletic, averaging a Whoscored rating of 7.03, but it would appear that the Irons could be cutting their losses on another of their young stars.
As per reliable source ExWHUemployee, midfielder Joe Powell could be headed for a permanent exit in east London, with Lincoln City and Bristol Rovers touted as potential destinations.
Writing on his personal Twitter account, Ex said: “Joe Powell is set to secure a move away from the club with Lincoln leading the chase!”
He the tweeted: “Bristol Rovers are also a front runner to get Powell on a permanent two year deal”.
The West Ham Zone View of this is that it feels like a bit of a shock.
Letting Powell go out on loan is one thing, but letting him leave on a permanent deal really seems a bit hasty.
At 21 he is still young, and his potential is undeniable.
He might only have one senior appearance to his name for the Irons, but he did register two assists in the 8-0 EFL Cup win over Macclesfield Town last season, and looked very bright throughout.
Hopefully this talk of a permanent exit is misguided, but it should be pointed out that Ex is very rarely too far wide of the mark.
In other news, ‘Definitely not’ – Paul Robinson urges West Ham to drop pursuit of ‘short-term solution’.