Harrison Ashby to undergo Newcastle United medical on Monday after fee agreed for West Ham United exit
Harrison Ashby will undergo a medical with Newcastle on Monday after they agreed a £3m fee with West Ham for a permanent deal, according to David Ornstein.
The 21-year-old defender has been left out of the West Ham side this season after failing to agree a new contract, and almost joined the Magpies on deadline day in the summer.
But a deal worth £3m plus a sell-on percentage was enough to convince the club to sell Ashby now, rather than letting him leave for free in the summer when his current contract expired.
The player’s contract at St James’ Park is still being worked on, but the player is expected to travel up north and undergo his medical on Monday before signing ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.
Shame
Ashby looks like a really top talent who has a great future ahead of him, and for some reason we’re not willing to tie him down to a long-term deal.
It seems as though the club aren’t interested in matching his wage demands, and without a guarantee of regular first-team football he’s opted to go elsewhere.
But in a period where our squad is ageing and the academy is developing some fine young players, Ashby seems like one that we’ve let slip and he will go and shine elsewhere.
With that said, being able to secure £3m plus a sell-on fee for a player with only a handful of first-team football appearances under his belt with six months left of his contract is good business for us.
He was nowhere near the first-team, behind several full-back options and whether you agree with that or not, the reality is that we’ve made a good deal here for the present situation.