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Fierce club statement emerges as Leeds United and Aston Villa target departs after formal approach

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Image for Fierce club statement emerges as Leeds United and Aston Villa target departs after formal approach

West Ham have confirmed the departure of teenage attacking midfielder Sonny Perkins upon the expiry of his contract, with both Leeds United and Aston Villa looking to sign him.

The Whites have been on the pulse when it comes to youth signings of late, making a number of shrewd additions since clinching promotion to the Premier League.

A new manager in Jesse Marsch hasn’t affected that approach and Leeds are looking to add more to their under-23s side despite their relegation from the PL2 Division One.

A player that the club has kept their eye on is West Ham starket Sonny Perkins, who actually made his Premier League debut against Leeds in the 3-2 away win back in January.

Leeds and Aston Villa reportedly opened talks with the 18-year-old earlier in the summer as they looked to strike a bargain deal, given his soon-to-be-expired contract.

The Irons have now confirmed that Perkins has left the club upon the expiry of his contract, with a fiery statement emerging:

“West Ham United invests millions of pounds annually into its world-renowned Academy of Football – and naturally the Club is extremely disappointed that Sonny has chosen not to continue his development with the Hammers.

“The Club is disappointed with Perkins’ representatives and strongly believe he was approached to sign for another club which led to him asking to be released from his scholarship at West Ham United.

“West Ham United take this matter very seriously – we believe the rules and structures in place at the Football Association and Premier League should be upheld at all times.”

The London outfit are entitled for a compensation fee from whichever club Perkins ends up joining, whether that be Leeds or the Villans, or anyone else.

Do Leeds need another attacking midfielder?

Yes

Yes

No

No

It’s not the best way to bid farewell to the club that have handed you your debut, but it was clear he was due to leave.

His contract was running down and he wasn’t going to sign it, so it shouldn’t come as a shock.

It isn’t clear where his next move is, so we have to use hope that he chooses us over Villa.

I’m not totally confident that we will win this race, given that Villa have proven how good their pathway is for youngsters, and the prospect of working with Steven Gerrard must be enticing.

That said, we can argue the same with how Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood, and Pascal Struijk have developed into senior players since joining.

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Leeds United season ticket holder since 2013/14, currently situated in the middle of the FA5 noise. From Pablo Hernandez to 5-1 drubbings, I've seen it all at Elland Road.