Journalist details West Ham ‘Fury’ at last-ditch January permanent exit

Emmanuel Longelo’s deadline-day permanent move to Birmingham City from West Ham has been met with much “fury” from the Hammers, with many lamenting the late deal, according to Birmingham Live journalist Brian Dick.

The 22-year-old Hammers academy product has enjoyed a fruitful loan spell so far this campaign in the West Midlands, registering a goal and two assists from 15 Sky Bet Championship outings.

And according to EXWHUemployee [31 January], the west Midlands outfit submitted a late deadline day bid to sign the Hammers academy product on a permanent basis.

According to Birmingham Live journalist Dick [2 February], many at the East Londoners have “lamented” the late permanent Longelo deal.

He wrote: “Birmingham City’s transfer deadline day was a quiet one, just one signing and not even really an incoming, with Manny Longelo’s loan made permanent, a move welcomed by most Blues fans and lamented by many from West Ham.”

Worrying

Longelo’s Hammers exit follows a worrying trend that is occurring at the London Stadium. The East Londoners are letting too many of their burgeoning young talents leave elsewhere, which could say much about the failures of the club’s academy.

Longelo along with Harrison Ashby and Pierre Ekwah are the latest in a long line of Hammers academy stars to walk out the London Stadium exit doors which seems like a worrying trend.

Have the East Londoners lost their glamour? Does the club’s current plight in the Premier League leave a lot of their young stars wanting moves away because of a potential lack of opportunity? Probably so.

Longelo will be a cruel blow to many at the club.

The 22-year-old could well have been moulded into an excellent Premier League talent, but it seems as if the club’s desperation to climb back into the European conversation means many of their young talents may not be provided with the opportunity to make an impression, especially with a potential major rebuild underway this summer.