A player usually has to earn cult hero status with special moments on the pitch but for Andy Irving at West Ham it’s different.
Andy Irving was something of a dirty little secret at West Ham at the start of this summer.
Irving’s fellow Scot David Moyes was Hammers boss when the club signed him from SK Austria Klagenfurt last summer before immediately loaning him back.
West Ham paid a reported £1.5m for the 24-year-old central midfielder as part of a feeder club partnership.
But there was an air of mystery and an element of the bizarre surrounding Irving at West Ham this summer.
The club never officially unveiled or announced the Scot as a Hammers signing.
And there was barely any mention of the former Hearts player as he started pre-season under Julen Lopetegui.
Irving not your usual budding Hammers cult hero
A lack of bodies meant Irving was used in most pre-season matches.
Combined with social media intrigue about him, it was all adding to a rather random budding cult hero status.
Irving forced West Ham to say his name by scoring in pre-season – and what a beauty it was too.
It was already highly unlikely that Irving would see much, if any, game time for West Ham when everyone is fit and available.
And a bumper transfer window, which saw the arrival of another central midfielder in Guido Rodriguez, underlined that fact.
Fans expressed delight when West Ham announced Irving had been handed a squad number for the new season.
Now fans will take him to their hearts even more.
Because what Irving did for Aaron Wan-Bissaka on day one at West Ham is just pure class.
What Irving did for Wan-Bissaka on day one is just pure class
On Tuesday the Irons made Wan-Bissaka their eight signing of what many are calling the club’s best ever window.
The deal was hit by delays at the 11th hour which had Hammers fans panicking the move for the right-back might collapse.
But technical director Tim Steidten and co got it over the line in the end as Wan-Bissaka signed up to a seven-year deal.
When the 26-year-old was unveiled, though, eagle-eyed West Ham fans noticed something.
In a selfless act which shows exactly what kind of character and team player Irving is, he let Wan-Bissaka take the number 29 shirt he was handed just days before.
Scot would give you the shirt off his back, literally
In the initial official announcement regarding squad numbers, Irving was number 29.
But Irving has given it up already so Wan-Bissaka can continue wearing the shirt number he sported at both Man United and Palace.
Irving has now been relegated to the number 39.
Sadly, though, there was no acknowledgement of Irving’s selfless act in West Ham’s updated squad numbers article, which has Wan-Bissaka as the picture holding the number 29 shirt aloft.
“At right-back, recent arrival Aaron Wan-Bissaka takes the No29 shirt he wore at previous clubs Crystal Palace and Manchester United, while Vladimír Coufal keeps the No5 he has worn since joining in October 2020,” the club website states.
The Hammers had warned fans not to commit to getting new shirts with player names and numbers on until after the transfer window had closed.
Now we can see why.
And we must wait to see whether Irving will still be around or go out on loan by the time August 30th rolls around too.
Regardless what happens for Irving from here on out, though, he has certainly left a mark on the club’s fans in an unorthodox manner.
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