Players come and go at West Ham. It’s a regular part of football. We know never to get too attached to a person on the pitch, as the days of players spending their careers at a club and earning themselves a testimonial are long gone.
Sometimes it’s a case of goodbye and good riddance, but it’s the ones that leave without issue, with their heads held high, that do tend to pull at the heartstrings. This summer, while it’s not quite the mass exodus some of us may have been expecting, nay, hoping for, there’s still some names in there that will pull at the heartstrings for a variety of reasons.
We’ve got a loyal and much-loved leader, bright young things who we really wanted to be successful in claret and blue, a lifelong fan, and academy graduates all now finding their fortunes elsewhere – all of whom we are grateful to have had with us at West Ham, and all of whom can leave with their heads held high.
Flynn Downes: After signing the young midfielder from Swansea in 2022, there were inevitable comparisons with Hammers legend Mark Noble. Downes lives and breathes West Ham and was delighted to sign with the club he’d supported since he was a boy.
He was an important part of our European cup success, playing in eleven games on our road to the trophy and putting in fantastic performances along the way. Despite his impressive displays in Europe, his opportunities to shine were few and far between and he began to look like yet another signing that Moyes didn’t want to actually use.
In 2023 he was loaned to then-Championship side Southampton, where he scooped another winners medal for his growing collection as they won promotion via the play-off finals. He made 37 appearances for them that season and found the net twice.
It’s not surprising that Southampton were keen to keep their hands on this vital part of their success, and over the summer they signed Downes on a permanent four year deal. This is likely the right outcome for all parties – Downes is a good player who should be playing regular football and Southampton are willing to give him that playing time.
He didn’t get enough time to shine in east London but he should remain incredibly proud of his efforts while here.
Ben Johnson: The 24-year-old defender and Academy graduate left West Ham this summer when his contract expired after an incredible 17 years at the club and 109 senior appearances. In his leaving letter, he emphasised that he was leaving with fond memories from his time in claret and blue, saying: ‘I just want to be known and remembered for my time at West Ham for having played with a smile on my face and having really enjoyed my football. That’s really important to me.’
There’s no doubt this legacy will be fondly remembered. Johnson did bring a positive attitude to the pitch and put his best foot forward – although fans did sometimes question his decision-making and tendency to be caught out. The biggest struggle facing Johnson was that he was never fully part of anyone’s plans at West Ham United – and not for a lack of trying.
After years of stewardship under David Moyes, the Scotsman still wasn’t reaching for Johnson as a steady first choice and instead began to experiment with him as a midfielder – a decision that confused, yet amused, West Ham fans – but even that wasn’t a winning formula for the Academy Graduate. He’s got a great career ahead of him, starting with regular football at new club Ipswich Town FC.
Divin Mubama: If wanting someone to do well automatically translated into goals scored, this man would be on every top scorer’s list. Mubama is another Academy player who broke into the first team, but this one just couldn’t get a foothold on a forever spot in the team – a real shame given the significant lack of striking options available to West Ham over recent years.
Mubama had an amazing run to the first team, playing a massive role in West Ham’s runaway success in the FA Youth Cup in 2023, occuring after he made his senior debut for the club in 2022 and even having scored in the European Conference League. He went on to make a handful of appearances for the first team, largely as a late substitute.
Although he made 12 first team appearances in the 2023-24 season, he didn’t play again after January and has been released by West Ham after making a career total of 18 appearances with one goal and one assist. His incredible performances in the youth team caught the attention of many fans who begged for him to get more senior team game time, and expressed frustration that Moyes seemed hesitant to give him opportunities to impress.
Where Mubama lost support from the fans was owing to rumoured wage and contract demands said to be led by his agent. At the time it was reported that he wanted ‘first team starter wages’, which is around £25,000 per week, to match the senior players, and this demand reportedly came after he had played just 33 minutes of first team football.
It’s always a shame when an Academy graduate doesn’t go all the way as a senior pro, especially when they’ve won the backing of so many fans, but there’s still a lot of promise for Divin if he can get more regular first team experience elsewhere. However, at the time of writing, the promising young player has yet to be snapped up by a new club.
Angelo Ogbonna: As sad as it is when the bright young things don’t quite work out, there’s a special sort of heartbreak reserved for the other end of the spectrum, when a dedicated and loyal player reaches the end of their tenure at West Ham. This is where we are with longtime Hammers defender and occasional club captain Angelo Ogbonna.
The 36-year-old Italian has made 249 appearances for West Ham in his nine years in east London. ‘Uncle’ Ogbonna, nicknamed owing to his experience, leadership, and warm personality, has made many contributions to West Ham over those years.
He offered a lot of calm, collected defending, in a career that at times was considerably impacted by injury. Ogbonna became a popular figure at the club for his positivity and general good nature – something which was appreciated from his very first match, when he posted online about his joy at playing his first match at the historic Wembley stadium.
The match was at the Emirates. Apparently no one let him know where he was. Fans have also never been sure if West Ham meant to sign him or not.
The first we heard of Ogbonna was when a photo of him was mistakenly attached to a David Gold tweet announcing the signing of Pedro Obiang. Not one to admit making a mistake, West Ham then went on to sign Ogbonna, too.
If signing him was a mistake, it’s one of the best mistakes this club has ever made. After his lengthy spell in east London, Ogbonna is nothing but positive on how far the Hammers have come in nine years saying ‘it’s a totally different West Ham’. He’s a vital part of this and can look back with immense pride on his time as a Hammer.
Joseph Anang: It’s always sad to see a player go who you haven’t had a chance to see play, especially when the player in question has been on the books at West Ham for seven years. After loan spells at Stevenage, Derby County and Irish side St Patrick’s Athletic, including playing in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifying rounds in 2022, Anang returned to West Ham where he spent two seasons as our No3 goalkeeper.
According to West Ham, he appeared in over 30 first-team matchday squads, including six as West Ham won the UEFA Europa Conference League. There’s more football in Anang’s future as he has been snapped up again by St Patrick’s Athletic, this time on a two-and-a-half year contract.
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