Sonny Perkins left West Ham United to join Leeds United back in the summer of 2022.
And now there has been a big twist that will leave the Hammers fans with wry grins on their faces.
Sonny Perkins made his full debut for West Ham under David Moyes, but he left the club in search of more regular first-team action.
Just after Perkins left, he scored a brilliant 33-minute hat-trick for the England under 19’s side, and many fans thought we had made a big error by letting him leave.
However, it seems like that couldn’t be further from the truth as things stand.
Hardly any players who have come through academies go on to make it at the very highest level.
And Perkins has seemingly fallen into the same trap as so many more young starlets before him.
Sonny Perkins twist is the icing on the cake for West Ham
The Hackney-born youngster has really struggled since leave West Ham just over two years ago.
And Perkins may well now be wishing that he had remained in East London, instead of moving to west Yorkshire.
He scored just one goal for Leeds before being shipped out on loan to Oxford United, when he bagged just one goal in six games.
The 20-year-old then moved to Leyton Orient on loan at the start of this season, and he has failed to impress there as well.
Perkins has only three goals to his name in 18 outings for Orient, and considering they play in League One, that’s a really poor return.
Here’s where it gets interesting though.
His deal with Leeds is set to expire in the summer of 2025 (Transfermarkt), so if he doesn’t impress with Orient, he could well be left on the footballing scrapheap by the time he’s 21.
The grass isn’t always greener Sonny
The 20-year-old was offered a decent contract to remain at West Ham.
Had he stayed at the London Stadium, he could have continued his development alongside the tremendously gifted group of youngsters we have at the club.
West Ham refused to buckle to Perkins’ relatively huge demands, and let him walk away from the club for nothing.
That may well end up being the best decision the Hammers ever made, and the worst call possible from the striker himself.
These young players need to learn to put in the hard yards first before they’re handed big contracts.
The proof will be in the pudding, if they’re good enough, the big money will come to them in time.
Sonny Perkins made the wrong decision by leaving West Ham, and the club will be very much vindicated with the stance they took in 2022, if he is let go by Leeds in the summer.
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