“I would love to stay” | West Ham Star may not want to return to West Ham. Boyhood West Ham fan Flynn Downes seemingly doesn’t want to come home after a sensational loan spell.
Despite featuring 32 times across all competitions last season, Flynn Downes never really got a fair chance at West Ham. The large majority of those appearances came off the bench and when he did start it was often out of position.
However, he still looked rather lively and, with their depth issues, the Hammers probably could’ve done with keeping hold of Downes. Nonetheless, they let him go out on loan to Southampton where has been one of the best players in the Championship. He’s slotted in perfectly to their possession based system and has become a fan favourite on the South Coast.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of West Ham fans are expecting him to come back to Rush Green to be assessed by Julen Lopetegui. However, that may not be what he wants as, even though he is a boyhood Hammer, he claims he wants to play for the Saints next season.
“Of course, I would love to stay here next season,” Downes told the Daily Echo. “I love it here. I love the gaffer. I love the staff. I love this place. Obviously, we will have to see what happens. I won’t know too much until I go back to West Ham. We will see what happens there.”
“I haven’t had any serious conversations at all (with West Ham). We are going to try and get the job done here and then talk about what is going on moving forward.”
Obviously this seems to suggest he wants a move away from the London Stadium but, realistically, was he going to say any different? If he isn’t given a chance again at West Ham his most likely destination will be to return to Southampton so why would he not keep their fans on side.
In reality, a lot of it depends on what Lopetegui thinks of the midfielder and a lot of it depends on whether Southampton get promoted. They drew the first leg of the play-off semi-finals away to West Brom so it’s all to play for at St Mary’s. They’ll be fighting with their lives for promotion, but they’ll also be fighting to keep hold of their most crucial player.
