West Ham United close to signing Scottish midfielder Andy Irving in surprise deadline-day swoop
West Ham United are close to completing the signing of Andy Irving from Austrian side SK Austria Klagenfurt, according to Kronen Zeitung.
Austria’s largest newspaper reported on its online edition on Friday [1 September] that United will loan Irving back to Klagenfurt as part of the deal.
West Ham are said to have already tabled their offer, which is expected to be accepted ahead of the 11pm deadline on Friday [1 September].
It is claimed that the transfer will “probably be a big windfall” for the Austrian Bundesliga side, who are experiencing financial issues.
Out of the (claret and) blue
This is a signing that has seemingly come out of nowhere.
For all the talk of deadline-day moves for Youssef En-Nesyri, Yuri Alberto or Hugo Ekitike, West Ham are instead bringing in a relatively unknown Scottish mdifielder.
That is not to say further deals will not go through before the window shuts, and this is hardly a signing for the here and now, either.
Scotland U21 international Irving played 59 times for Hearts earlier in his career, but he decided to move on and joined German third-tier side Turkgucu Munchen in 2021.
A move to Klagenfurt followed last season and the 23-year-old has clearly made an impression in Austria as West Ham have come calling.
This seems like a strange move on the face of it given Irving’s age, but let’s give the club the benefit of the doubt with this one.
Who knows, maybe Irving could be the next unheralded player to become a household name under the watch of David Moyes.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers will reportedly block the exit of a first-team regular should a deadline-day bid be tabled.