West Ham sign highly-rated youngster Daniel Rigge on free transfer after his Manchester City release
West Ham have signed highly-rated 16-year-old Daniel Rigge after the midfielder was released from Manchester City, as revealed by the Evening Standard.
The club have made no official announcement as of yet but the Evening Standard reported on Friday 10 June that the youngster had been training with the Hammers and featured for the Irons at youth level earlier in the season.
Rigge is not old enough to sign a professional contract and will join the Irons academy.
It has also been claimed that no transfer fee or compensation will be paid to Manchester City.
The Evening Standard also claimed that the Hammers are still pushing hard to finalise deals for PSG’s Alphonse Areola and Renne defender Nayef Aguerd
Trust in youth
West Ham have a huge summer ahead trying to improve the first team, but it is good to see the Hammers continue to keep an eye firmly on their youth set up which has been so profitable for them over the years.
Declan Rice, Mark Noble, Ben Johnson and Sonny Perkins are just a few first-team names that have made their way through the ranks at the club.
Signing younger players is low risk and in the case of Rigge has no risk as there is no financial obligation to Manchester City.
Often we hear of players being released from bigger clubs and then flourishing elsewhere and this could well be another example.
West Ham have a great environment for younger players to thrive and with David Moyes in charge, he will give youth a chance if he thinks they’re good enough.
It would not be a surprise to see Rigge’s name pop up again a few years time.
In other West Ham news, a deal is on the cards to sign a forward who Moyes once compared to Wayne Rooney.
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