With Mark Noble retiring at the end of last season West Ham is already looking for his long-term replacement but they face competition from Crystal Palace for the player.
According to Sky Sports:
"West Ham United are in advanced talks with Swansea City over the signing of midfielder Flynn Downes. A deal thought to be worth £12m is close to being finalised with West Ham increasingly confident they can complete the signing."
The latest from Sky Sports is that the player is already busy with the second part of his medical and should be announced as a Hammer soon.
🚨✍️ Flynn Downes is having the second part of his medical ahead of his £12M transfer to West Ham pic.twitter.com/LO6HJbsgXY
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) July 7, 2022
Who Is West Ham’s Midfield Target
Downes was born in Brentwood, Essex and grew up supporting the Hammers. He started his career at Ipswich Town, which is a club Noble was sent on loan to back in 2006.
Downes had a loan spell at Luton Town in 2018 and joined Swansea last August and made 37 appearances for them in the Championship last season, scoring once and creating two assists.
Just like Noble, he is a central midfielder and at just 23 years old could become a great prospect for the future. West Ham is known for developing young players, you can just look at how Jarrod Bowen has flourished at the club and now made his way into the England squad.
Declan Rice is another recent young England player who has become a phenomenal talent for the Hammers. Rice was taken under Noble’s wing at West Ham and with Rice becoming the new captain he will help Downes just like the Hammers legend did for him.
However, the club do face competition for the signing with the Daily Mail reporting that:
"Crystal Palace are in talks to sign Flynn Downes for around £8 million from Swansea City this summer. The 23-year-old was absent when Swansea faced Colchester United in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Tuesday afternoon.Palace have been long-term admirers of Downes. They previously tried to sign the Essex-born midfielder during his time at Ipswich."
Moyes Needs to Strengthen the Hammers Squad
The two London clubs seem to be targeting a lot of similar players this summer with both clubs also interested in Burnley’s Dwight McNeil. However, in the case of Downes, given that he is a West Ham fan, may be what sways the player’s decision. David Moyes’ side is also in the Europa Conference League next season and will need a big squad to compete domestically as well as in Europe.
The numbers quoted look like West Ham are prepared to pay more for the player, but this may be the start of a bidding war for him. Crystal Palace has shown they will give chances to young English players with Conor Gallagher playing 34 times last season, scoring 8 goals and creating 3 assists.
Gallagher has returned to Chelsea following his loan spell at the Eagles last season and Viera will be looking to replace him with a similar type of player. Downes is such a young player and his next move will be key for him. He needs to make sure he chooses a club that will give him regular game time.
The player being a West Ham fan is interesting and would be fitting for him to choose a move to the London Stadium but must choose with his head rather than his heart in making his decision.