West Ham attacker makes shock transfer U-turn after London Stadium exit
Favour Fawunmi has made a transfer U-turn after leaving West Ham United last week.
The 18-year-old left West Ham after his short-term contract with them ran out at the end of January, turning down a deal to stay at the London Stadium until 2026.
Sean Whetstone (1 February) later reported that the attacker was on the verge of joining PAOK on a three-year contract in Greece.
However, there is a fresh twist in Fawunmi’s situation, with the player signing for a different club altogether.
Favour Fawunmi stays in England after West Ham departure
Fawunmi, who had a trial at QPR last year, has joined Stoke City on a free transfer, according to The Evening Standard on Friday (7 February).
Dom Smith reported via the newspaper’s website that the London-born player has put pen to paper on a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Championship club, who have an option to extend it by another year.
The Potters offered him a deal after he produced a goalscoring performance in their Under-21s’ 4-2 win against Huddersfield Town on trial on Tuesday, 4 February.
Although Fawunmi, who had a trial at QPR last year, did receive a four-year contract offer from PAOK, his desire to stay in England saw him commit his future to Stoke.
Hammers lose talented gem
It is possible that Fawunmi rejected a new contract at West Ham as he did not see a pathway to the first team there.
The competition for places is high at the East London club, with even £25.5million summer signing Luis Guilherme struggling for playing time, and it is easy to see why a youngster like Fawunmi was tempted to leave.
He will now look to earn his way into first-team football at Stoke, where he will initially link with the Under-21s.
It now remains to be seen if the failure to tie the left-footed attacker down to a new deal will come back to haunt the Hammers in the future.
Meanwhile, Graham Potter’s side already appear keen to avoid more youngsters leaving them, as they have convinced highly-rated goalkeeper Mason Terry to commit his future to them [ExWHUEmployee].