Premier League champions Man City have released a star they signed from West Ham after just one year with the club.
Manchester City have certainly been making the headlines of late and for a change it doesn’t involve signing West Ham star Lucas Paqueta.
The Hammers and Man City have enjoyed good relations between supporters down the years.
It all stems from a famous game between West Ham and Man City at Upton Park in 1987.
A prime example of that is the fact West Ham fans were in favour of Declan Rice joining Manchester City ahead of Arsenal last summer after Pep Guardiola submitted a bid.
Guardiola also wanted to sign Paqueta from the Hammers and almost did until an £85m deal collapsed due to the emergence of an illegal betting case against the Brazilian.
On the flip side West Ham came close to signing Cole Palmer from Man City. Karren Brady recently revealed the Hammers had agreed a deal for the brilliant star only for Chelsea to swoop late in the day.
There was one move involving West Ham and Man City which went somewhat under the radar last summer, though.
West Ham academy centre-back Jamal Baptiste was once one of the most highly-rated young players in the country and being likened to Rio Ferdinand.
Man City move shocked Hammers
But after off the field issues saw him go completely off the radar for over a year, it barely made a splash when he left the Hammers back in May last year.
There was shock when it was announced by Fabrizio Romano that Baptiste was joining Premier League champions Manchester City.
West Ham had fought off alleged interest from elite clubs across Europe including Man City to sign England youth international Baptiste up to a pro deal.
David Moyes was a massive fan and included the big defender in several first team squads.
Back in 2020, West Ham academy coach Carlton Cole labelled Baptiste the new Ferdinand.
But the young defender mysteriously disappeared off the West Ham scene.
And when it was announced last May that he was leaving the club, rumours had swirled about the issues which had led to his lack of progress at West Ham.
There were fears the Hammers had dropped a major clanger by releasing Baptiste right into Man City’s arms.
After all if Manchester City wanted him then what were West Ham thinking?
Man City release star they signed from West Ham
But now Man City have released the star they signed from West Ham after just one year.
The Premier League has announced the list of players from every club who have been released this summer.
And Manchester City have officially released Baptiste according to the site.
It throws Baptiste’s future into doubt once more and West Ham will no doubt be interested to see what happens next for the centre-back.
Although sad for the player, the Hammers will undoubtedly be relieved they were not made to regret their decision to release Baptiste. For now at least.
Baptiste previously dismissed speculation he had dropped off the map at West Ham due to disciplinary issues.
Baptiste on truth behind West Ham demise
Baptiste claimed illness followed by a rare and serious nerve condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome were the real reasons behind his off-field issues.
“I had glandular fever which later developed into Guillain-Barre syndrome,” Baptiste told The Athletic on leaving West Ham before joining Man City last year.
“It was a difficult time in my life. (West Ham co-owner David) Sullivan let me see his private doctor and I can’t thank him enough for actually believing me that there was something wrong in the first place.
“He trusted me, and I thankfully found out I had an issue which needed to be sorted out. I thanked him big time because he’s the one who pushed for the tests. I saw his doctor four to five times in the space of a week.”
We wish Baptiste all the best in getting his young career back on track.
As they say, once a Hammer, always a Hammer.
You can see how highly-rated Baptiste was by West Ham in the video of him signing his first pro deal below.