Andy Irving apparently came quite close to leaving West Ham United on transfer deadline day.
Celtic made an approach to sign West Ham midfielder Andy Irving on deadline day, but he remained at the London Stadium in the end.
Andy Irving joined West Ham from SK Austria Klagenfurt on transfer deadline day back in the summer of 2023.
However, he is still yet to play a competitive minute for the first-team, although he did show glimpses of his quality during pre-season.
It was a really strange signing by David Moyes at the time. The fact that he’s still at the club though proves that he might have something about him right?
It appears as though that is in fact the case.
Jaw-dropping Andy Irving claim will leave West Ham fans stunned
It was a huge shock when Irving joined us in the summer of 2023.
However, it was perhaps an even bigger surprise when he remained at the London Stadium.
After he was linked with Celtic, it was suggested that he wanted to remain with West Ham to fight for his place.
It now seems like that actually may not have been the case though.
According to The Athletic, it was actually Lopetegui and Steidten who wanted to keep him:
“Andy Irving had interest from Celtic, St Pauli and Sturm Graz in the week leading up to deadline day. But Steidten and Lopetegui wanted to keep Irving for squad depth and the 24-year-old midfielder decided to stay.“
Now, I’m not quite sure I understand this. Why did we need more depth in central midfield – an area where we’re incredibly well-stocked as it is?
Irving is already behind Edson Alvarez, Guido Rodriguez, Tomas Soucek, Lucas Paqueta and Carlos Soler in the central midfield pecking order.
The Hammers would have to experience a severe injury crisis for the Scot to even be considered for game-time.
Andy Irving’s West Ham dream still alive
Last season, the 24-year-old midfielder suggested that it was his dream to play for West Ham in the Premier League.
That seemed a little far fetched at the time, but Lopetegui gave the Scot plenty of chances to shine during the friendly games this summer.
James Ward-Prowse recently admitted that he has been really impressed by Irving during pre-season.
He actually looked decent at times, and even scored a wonder goal during our win away at Dagenham back in July.
However, if we’re all being honest here, he’s a long way off of the levels required to play Premier League football.
I am hugely surprised that Andy Irving remained at West Ham beyond the end of the summer transfer window.
A move back to Scotland or perhaps to his former club in Austria surely beckons for the 24-year-old at some point in the near future. He isn’t good enough to be at West Ham.
I really hope he proves me wrong but I just can’t see it. The fact he’s still a Hammers player is a very big surprise indeed.
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