Frank McAvennie says Flynn Downes has “the makings of a top, top player” and is going to be a “superstar” at West Ham United.
Downes spent the 2023/24 campaign on loan at Southampton, helping the Saints win promotion back to the Premier League via the playoffs, beating Leeds United 1-0 in the final.
And McAvennie – speaking exclusively to West Ham Zone – has been impressed by what he has seen from the midfielder and believes the boyhood Hammers fan should not be sold this summer.
“I like the boy [Downes]. He’s West Ham through and through, his family [are too]. I think he’s come on leaps and bounds,” McAvennie said.
“It depends what this boy wants. I think he’s going to be a West Ham superstar. Whether it’s this year or next year. Whether he wants to stay [at Southampton] for another year. I think he’s got the makings of being a top, top player. But he’s got to play every week.
“[Moyes] kept Soucek when Downes should have been playing. Everyone knew that. It does your head in, actually, as a player, when everyone on the terraces knows it and the players know. Soucek wasn’t doing too well and it’s a straight swap. But he kept Soucek – [Lopetegui] hopefully won’t do that. And if Downes speaks to the manager and he says, ‘Look, you’ve played well, you’re in,’ then he’ll want to come back. No disrespect to Southampton, but he’s a West Ham fan and [the Hammers] are a better team.
“I don’t want to sell him. I think he’s going to be a star for West Ham, so why don’t they give him another loan, for a year or something, and then bring him back as an experienced player and he’ll just walk straight into the team, I think.
“It’s down to the new manager, isn’t it? It’s down to him. But, for me, I wouldn’t sell him. Not a chance.”
Should West Ham United keep Flynn Downes?
Downes was a regular fixture in the Championship for Southampton last season, making 33 appearances as Russell Martin’s men bounced straight back from relegation.
He completed 70.54 passes per 90 in the second tier on average last term at a passing accuracy of 93.3 per cent – a very impressive total [FotMob].
The midfielder’s capacity to act as a conductor at the base of midfield could be a perfect fit for new head coach Julen Lopetegui’s tactical blueprint next term, if he is given a chance to impress.
