West Ham have signed Swansea midfielder Flynn Downes in a £12m deal; lifelong Hammer Flynn, 23, signs five-year deal at London Stadium
Friday 8 July 2022 07:35, UK
West Ham have completed the signing of midfielder Flynn Downes from Swansea City on a five-year deal for an undisclosed fee believed to be £12m.
The 23-year-old lifelong Hammers fan has signed a deal that will keep him at the London Stadium until the summer of 2027, with a further one-year option.
"It's a surreal feeling to have joined my boyhood club," Downes said. "I feel like I'm dreaming. It's been my dream since I was a little boy to join this club - it's an absolute privilege. This is my club, so I couldn't be more delighted.
"I'm glad to be here and I can't wait to get started. I want to be the best I can be and this feels like the perfect opportunity to test myself against the very best players in the Premier League.
"Players have come to West Ham from the Championship and progressed to international honours. That's something you can't ignore. The manager's track record of bringing players through was a big motivation in me joining the club. I'm so grateful for the opportunity to be a West Ham player."
West Ham manager David Moyes added: "We are pleased to have signed Flynn and looking forward to bringing him into the group.
"We think he's got good energy. We think he's got a lot of things which we have about our team, which would want to keep and want to add to.
"We brought Jarrod Bowen from a similar situation at Hull, so we're always trying to find boys from the Championship who we think are going to step up to become Premier League players. I'm hoping that Flynn does. I think there's a good chance as he's got an awful lot of good attributes."
Sky Sports News' chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol:
David Moyes will be given money to spend to carry on strengthening his squad, with Mark Noble, Andriy Yarmolenko, Ryan Fredericks and David Martin all leaving at the end of their contracts.
One of the sagas of the summer will be the future of Declan Rice. West Ham have made it clear they will not sell him this summer but you would think they would find it difficult to turn down an offer in the region of £100m. Rice has two years left on his contract but West Ham have the option of extending it by another year to the summer of 2025.
They are also interested in Hull City forward Keane Lewis-Potter.
West Ham kick off the 2022/23 Premier League season with champions Manchester City visiting the London Stadium, live on Sky Sports.
David Moyes' side drew the corresponding fixture 2-2 in the run-in to the 2021/22 season, briefly giving Liverpool hope in the race for the title when they took a 2-0 lead.
West Ham, who ultimately finished seventh and qualified for the Europa Conference League, follow City with a trip to newly-promoted Nottingham Forest before Brighton, who they have never beaten in the Premier League, visit the London Stadium.
The Hammers face Leicester at home on November 12 before the 2022/23 season breaks for the World Cup in Qatar and they return to Premier League action on Boxing Day at the Emirates against Arsenal.
West Ham's final home game of the season is against Leeds on May 20 before their campaign closes at Leicester City on May 28.
Moyes will find out who his side will face in the Europa Conference League play-off round (fixtures played on August 18 and 25), when the draw takes place on Tuesday, August 2.
Who will be on the move this summer before the transfer window closes at 11pm on September 1?
Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and rumours in our dedicated Transfer Centre blog on Sky Sports' digital platforms. You can also catch up with the ins, outs and analysis on Sky Sports News.
