In recent years, only Declan Rice and Ben Johnson have managed to establish themselves as consistent members of West Ham United’s first-team squad having come through the academy.
A number of promising youngsters have been on the fringes of the squad but far too many have been shipped out without any real opportunities; and given their development elsewhere, the Hammers may soon come to regret their decisions on a number of players.
One such example is Josh Cullen, who has seen his stock rise significantly since departing the London Stadium in 2020, with a return to Premier League football with Burnley looking almost certain this year.
Should West Ham regret selling Josh Cullen?
Cullen was a product of West Ham’s academy but spent much of his youth playing away from the club, enjoying loan spells with Bradford City, Bolton Wanderers and Charlton Athletic.
Despite a promising spell with the Addicks in the 2019/20 campaign, which saw him feature 34 times in the Championship, David Moyes clearly felt that Cullen wouldn’t cut it at the London Stadium, and he was duly sold to Anderlecht for a minimal fee.
After impressing under Vincent Kompany in Belgium, making 80 appearances in total, the Irish midfielder linked up with the Manchester City legend again in the summer, completing a move to Championship side Burnley.
He has since been a mainstay for the Clarets as they look set to run away with the title, contributing one goal and three assists in 35 appearances for the Lancashire outfit.
Kompany is certainly a fan of the 26-year-old and it would not be a surprise to see him keep his regular place in the team next season, when Burnley look certain to be playing in the top flight once again.
The Clarets manager said of Cullen: “I can’t be complimentary enough, but I think everyone can see what he does. The team appreciates it; his strength is that he’s the ultimate player that puts the team before himself.”
The Irishman’s impressive displays in Belgium and in the Championship have unsurprisingly seen his value rocket in recent years, with Transfermarkt now valuing him at €7m (£6.2m), which represents a mammoth 483% increase from his €1.2m (£1m) value upon leaving West Ham.
Given that West Ham occupy a relegation place in the Premier League, they could be leapfrogged by their former player this year. All the while, Moyes is stuck with expensive midfielders such as Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta, who cost a combined £70.1m to sign and £215,000 in wages each week, with Declan Rice likely to depart regardless of the division in which the Hammers find themselves next season.
Therefore, this feels like another transfer decision that the under-pressure Moyes will end up regretting, (think of the £10m spent on the rarely-seen Jordan Hugill in 2018), and it perhaps highlights why more youngsters should be given opportunities in West Ham’s first-team, before they end up prospering elsewhere.