West Ham United insider Claret and Hugh have suggested that Harrison Ashby could still leave the club in January after holding talks with Premier League side Newcastle.

The Lowdown: Newcastle talks collapse

The 20-year-old has now entered the final year of his contract at the London Stadium, and therefore, a summer exit looked highly likely to be on the cards.

Eddie Howe’s side were heavily linked with a late deal for the defender, but the Irons are believed to have pulled the plug due to Ben Johnson being ruled out for weeks through injury.

Following a fresh update though, it sounds as if the youngster could still be heading for St. James’ Park in a few months time…

The Latest: Ashby set for January exit?

According to Claret and Hugh, Newcastle found it ‘very difficult’ to achieve a deal to sign Ashby, with David Moyes ‘loathe to lose’ an important squad member that late on in the window.

January ‘may be a different story’ if the Magpies ‘make a very tempting offer’, albeit depending on the injured players returning so that the boss isn’t left light on numbers.

[web_stories_embed url="https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-updates-2/" title="West Ham latest updates!" poster="" width="360" height="600" align="none"]

The Verdict: Chance to shine

With Johnson out for a while, it makes sense that the Irons decided to keep hold of Ashby as a backup to Vladimir Coufal, and now could be his time to shine.

The Milton Keynes-born talent, dubbed ‘tremendous’ by Scotland U21s head coach Scot Gemmill, has created 12 goal contributions for the Hammers’ U21s (nine assists and three goals), highlighting his desire to attack down the flank (Transfermarkt).

Moyes will need good squad depth with the additional Europa Conference League fixtures coming up, and so this might be Ashby’s ideal opportunity to impress the manager and either place himself in the shop window or earn a new deal.