West Ham United allowed young right-back Harrison Ashby to join Newcastle United 16 months ago.
Now 22, Harrison Ashby has failed to play a single minute for the Newcastle senior team since his West Ham exit.
I think the Hammers got it so wrong at the time by moving on the talented Ashby rather than Ben Johnson.
Despite the fact that David Moyes barely gave him a chance at the London Stadium, he was still given 365 minutes under the Scot (Transfermarkt).
The 22-year-old right-back has all of the ingredients needed to become a star of the game at the very highest level, I’m convinced of that.
He just hasn’t been given the platform to showcase his true value just yet.
Ashby impressed on the whole during his loan spell with Swansea City this season. He bagged a goal and an assist in 13 appearances, and averaged two tackles, 1.4 interceptions and 1.2 clearances per game (Who Scored).
He has now returned to Newcastle, and things are looking far from rosy for the youngster…
Harrison Ashby twist leads to burning West Ham question
It seems like the former Hammer may have made a terrible decision by joining Newcastle in 2023.
That’s because a report has shared a big twist regarding his future, after he was praised to the hilt by Toon boss Eddie Howe last year:
“We think he’s (Ashby) a player that has huge potential. Naturally, he needs time here to progress and develop. He’s got the ideal mentor in Kieran who will help him. We wanted to bring in more strength on that side of the pitch.”
According to Give Me Sport, Ashby has been made ‘surplus to requirements’ by Howe at St James’ Park.
The Hammers were forced into selling the Scotland under-21 international to the Magpies in January 2023 because his contract was due to expire in the summer.
During his time with West Ham, he demonstrated his incredible pace, a wicked delivery, strength in the challenge, and impressive positional awareness for someone so young.
I don’t really blame him for leaving us to join Newcastle at the time – he just wasn’t getting enough chances under Moyes after all.
However, he will surely look back on his exit now and think he might have just been better off staying at the London Stadium.
Harrison Ashby could have enjoyed a very bright future at West Ham, but a lot of things stopped that from happening.
One of those things was the fact that he didn’t sign a new deal, and perhaps he’ll be regretting that just now, with Newcastle ready to move him on.
Could he return to the London Stadium? Only time will tell with that one.
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