West Ham United are eyeing a swoop for Partick Thistle starlet Aiden McGinlay, according to The Daily Record (via Claret & Hugh).
The Lowdown: Hammers’ academy
The Irons are on the lookout for fresh talent to add to their dwindling youth academy after a number of their most promising players left this summer in search of opportunities elsewhere.
The most prominent recent departure was Sonny Perkins, who rejected signing a professional deal with the east London club, opting to join Leeds United instead.
The 18-year-old netted ten goals in 20 Premier League 2 games last season, for which he was rewarded with three senior appearances across the Premier League and Europa League.
The Latest: Interest in McGinlay
According to a report by The Daily Record, as relayed by Claret & Hugh, West Ham are interested in signing Partick Thistle youngster McGinlay.
It is claimed the Hammers have been impressed by the midfielder after witnessing a number of strong performances for Partick’s youth sides, which included the Scotsman scoring twice against Livingston for their U16s.
The Irons are planning a follow-up scouting mission of the Scottish wonderkid, which will allow them to come to a finalised decision.
Partick have established themselves as one of the top academies in Scotland as of recent times, with the likes of 16-year-old Cammy Cooper having been pinched by Premiership giants Rangers.
[web_stories_embed url="https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-news-5/" title="West Ham latest news!" poster="" width="360" height="600" align="none"]
The Verdict: West Ham’s youth talent
Whilst West Ham’s obvious candidate as the most recognisable graduate from the Academy of Football is current captain Declan Rice, Ben Johnson was the only other youth product on the bench for the Hammers against Fulham on Sunday.
Therefore, having invested huge amounts of money in the transfer market this summer, the Irons will now be looking to develop their youth academy as a means of bringing through some of football’s biggest stars – without having to spend massive money on inflated transfer fees.
The likes of Liverpool have developed an approach of luring some of football’s best young talents to their club before they sign a professional deal with their boyhood team, and if West Ham are able to replicate a similar approach, we may see many more academy products playing for the first team.