West Ham United signed Leeds United defender Sam Byram three years ago as his career at the London Stadium could be coming to an end.
Leeds United academy product Sam Byram hasn’t been able to hit the heights that were expected of him at West Ham, as he is on the verge of leaving the Premier League club.
The Nottingham Post have claimed that Byram is set to leave the London Stadium on a permanent basis this summer, with Championship side Forest interested in his signature.
Byram will be well aware of his surroundings in the Midlands because he was on-loan at the club last season, albeit for a brief period because injury did hit his campaign hard.
Nonetheless, three years after leaving Leeds, Byram is seemingly heading for the exit door at West Ham, where he simply hasn’t been able to make his mark.
There’s no doubt that his career in recent seasons has gone backwards, with injuries, lack of form and game time all playing a part in his recent downfall.
Leeds have been known to part ways with their academy products, and part ways with them earlier than the supporters would like. Did they do the same with Byram?
He left Elland Road for the East London club when he was 22 [West Ham’s official website], so age-wise it couldn’t be argued that it was way too early, though he still had time to improve his game even further, but the lure of the Premier League at the age can be too much, and understandably so.
Added with that, he had played 143 matches for Leeds, so he had enough experience under his belt [transfermarkt], but he still couldn’t cement his place in West Ham’s starting XI.
One area of sympathy for Byram is that he joined the Hammers when they had just moved into their new stadium, and the settling in period was tough for all, so for a player to try and prove his worth under that struggle was difficult.
It seems as though Byram will now be locking horns with his former club again, as at the age of 25, he still has plenty of time to make himself a Premier League regular.
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