West Ham United: Southampton stance shared on Flynn Downes ahead of summer transfer window
Southampton “intend to prioritise” turning Flynn Downes’ loan into a permanent deal in the summer transfer window, according to The Athletic.
Roshane Thomas shared an update on each of the West Ham players out on loan in an article for the online publication on Saturday (23 March).
Downes has impressed this season for Championship side Southampton, whose ultimate beneficial owner is billionaire Dragan Solak.
“The arrangement does not include an option to buy, something West Ham were reluctant to sanction,” Thomas wrote in the article.
“But Southampton intend to prioritise turning his loan into a permanent transfer at the end of the season, regardless of whether they go straight back up.”
Flynn Downes impressing for Southampton in Championship
Downes was not getting the playing time he wanted at London Stadium, not helped by the arrivals of midfielders James Ward-Prowse, Edson Alvarez and – to a lesser extent – Mohammed Kudus.
Sending the 25-year-old out on loan therefore made sense on the face of it, and so it has proved as he has had a good campaign in the second tier.
Indeed, Southampton’s club-record winning run of 25 games only ended when Downes was sidelined with a hip problem, which goes a long way to highlighting his importance.
West Ham must soon decide whether they want to keep Downes on their books or cash in this summer. With three years still to run on his London Stadium deal, the ball is very much in the Irons’ court.
Southampton are clearly eager to bring him on board permanently, and if a reasonable price is offered then it surely makes sense to offload in the summer.
Having paid £12million to sign him just a couple of years ago, it is likely that United will want a profit on that amount. And should Southampton be promoted, there is no reason why they cannot afford that sum.
In other West Ham news, Anton Ferdinand is confident about what will happen when the Irons face Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League.
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