West Ham star Michail Antonio has made a comment about ex teammate Harrison Ashby that Newcastle United fans will love.
West Ham fans were left reeling by the departure of another hugely promising young talent when Ashby joined Newcastle on deadline day.
In truth it was a move that has been one of football’s worst kept secrets for some time.
Scotland youth international Ashby had been linked with a move to mega-rich Newcastle since the summer.
The swashbuckling right-back impressed with his pace and crossing ability when given chances in the Hammers first team by David Moyes.
Those chances were too few and far between for the 21-year-old’s liking, though, and he made it clear he would not be signing a new deal with West Ham in the summer.
With the defender’s deal up in the summer the Hammers looked to salvage something from the time and effort the club put into Ashby’s development by getting around £3m from Newcastle for the deal (BBC Sport).
The Ashby move to Newcastle has West Ham fans divided. Many blame Moyes for not giving him more game time in a bid to convince him to stay, particularly as right-back has been a real problem position for West Ham.
Others believe Ashby will fail to cut it at Premier League level like so many academy starlets before him.
But West Ham star Antonio has made a comment about ex teammate Ashby that Newcastle fans will love.
Speaking to Newcastle forward Callum Wilson about the January transfer business done by both clubs, Antonio enthusiastically told his striker his club had signed ‘some player’.
“Yep (you signed Ashby from West Ham), he’s decent to be fair,” Antonio told Wilson on the Footballer’s Football Podcast.
Wilson responded that he was yet to see him due to Newcastle’s midweek game but says he is ‘sure he’s a talent’.
Ashby sent a classy farewell message to West Ham this week.
And Moyes has revealed in his pre-Newcastle press conference that West Ham could not ‘match the package he wanted’.
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