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West Ham United: Journalist reveals alarm bells ringing behind scenes at London Stadium

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Image for West Ham United: Journalist reveals alarm bells ringing behind scenes at London Stadium

Journalist Ben Jacobs has claimed that West Ham United are worrying about the future of young star Harrison Ashby.

The young Hammers defender hasn’t featured for the first team in the Premier League this season under David Moyes and was only afforded six league minutes in the last campaign, which may be why he was seemingly close to an exit over the summer.

It was reported that Newcastle United were keen on landing the defender, but while no deal came to fruition, it’s recently been claimed that Ashby is now set for a mid-season exit due to his contract closing in on its expiry.

And Jacobs has claimed on the NUFC Matters YouTube channel there are indeed alarm bells sounding at West Ham over the fact they could soon lose the promising talent.

He said: “What I do understand is that there’s no new contract yet at West Ham, which is the big thing that’s causing alarm behind the scenes over there, and if you’d have spoken to me six months or so ago, I think West Ham were pretty confident on tying him down for the long run.

Will West Ham regret losing Ashby?

Yes!

Yes!

No!

No!

“From West Ham’s point of view, they absolutely think that he’s one of the most talented players to come through their academy system in quite some time.

“Now he’s out of contract in the summer of 2023, so West Ham are going to have to get moving and clearly, if he doesn’t sign a new deal, then you could either get him in January for a nominal fee or you could get him on a free transfer, which would be a massive, massive blow as far as West Ham are concerned.”

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As Jacobs said, it would be a massive blow if West Ham were to lose Ashby given that he’s seemingly rated so highly within the club, but with zero league starts to his name at 21, he clearly feels he needs to leave the London Stadium to further his development.

With Newcastle a potential destination, the appeal of learning his trade under England international Kieran Trippier will surely be a huge one – especially given the vice-captain’s age, as Ashby could see that as his position on a regular basis in a year or two.

While some reports have suggested that Ashby leaving West Ham is all but confirmed, the fact that Jacobs has claimed West Ham need to get a move on would suggest that the Hammers still have a chance of convincing him to stay.

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