West Ham United youngster Callum Marshall did not rule out joining VFL Bochum on a permanent deal, shortly after completing his January loan move to the 2.Bundesliga outfit.
But while the Northern Ireland international left his Hammers future ajar early into his stint at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion, there are other factors at play here than Callum Marshall’s wants and desires.
Six months after Nuno Espirito Santo handed Marshall his senior debut in a West Ham United shirt during a 2-0 away defeat at Arsenal, the signs appear to be pointing towards a pre-season spent in East London rather than North Rhine-Westphalia.
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Callum Marshall to return to West Ham United after Germany spell
German publication WAZ provided a detailed deep dive into Marshall’s future this week.
They say that West Ham are expected to demand a fee in excess of £1 million for the former West Brom and Huddersfield Town loanee.
Marshall was tipped to fire Bochum to Bundesliga promotion when he joined three months ago. Uwe Rosler, the one-time Leeds, Brentford and Wigan Athletic coach, had his team loitering around the play-off spots.
Bochum are now only four points above the bottom three, however. Marshall scored a superb lob on his debut in German soil, but has only scored once more since; Bochum winning in just two of his 11 appearances so far.
WAZ add that a permanent transfer would be ‘financially difficult’ if Bochum survive in the second-tier. And, therefore, pretty impossible if they don’t.
‘Another season for Marshall at VFL isn’t out of the question but, at the moment, it looks more like he’ll be leaving’, the report concludes. ‘Bochum has already identified – and potentially more cost-effective – alternatives’.
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Marshall did not rule out staying at VFL Bochum
It is fair to say big things were expected of a striker who finished as Huddersfield’s top scorer in 2024/25. Marshall has come in for criticism as Bochum’s play-off charge has twisted itself into a potential relegation dogfight, though WAZ insist that Rosler would still ‘love’ to keep him.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” Marshall told BILD in February. “When I was 17 [at Linfield], I thought I’d play in Ireland for the rest of my career. Two months later, I was at West Ham United.
“Everything can change so quickly. I get along well with my teammates. We’ll see what happens next.”
If we were to make an educated guess, we’d suggest that what ‘happens next’ for Marshall is a pre-season at West Ham, maybe a contract extension, and then another EFL loan.
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