Crystal Palace and Leeds were both rejected by Flynn Downes back in July 2022 after he decided to join West Ham instead.
It was The Athletic who claimed that Leeds monitored the 24-year-old heavily across the summer transfer window, while Wales Online even claimed that Crystal Palace felt they had won the race for his signature.
However, Downes – a boyhood West Ham fan – rejected all other options when the east Londoners made contact, and eventually sealed a £12m move.
You can understand why he wanted to join the side he supports, although things certainly haven’t been easy since he swapped Swansea for east London.
What’s the story?
Well, Downes has only made four Premier League starts this season.
David Moyes has preferred to field the likes of Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and Lucas Paqueta in the middle of the park, leaving his No.12 on the bench more often than not.
Downes hasn’t even really been given many starts in the cup competitions either since deciding to turn down Crystal Palace and Leeds.
Moyes has started his £12m signing on just one occasion in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Downes also has just one start in the FA Cup, and one start in the Carabao Cup.
To make matters worse, the Englishman could also be relegated with his beloved West Ham – the Irons currently sit 14th in the Premier League, one point above the relegation zone.
Crystal Palace or Leeds could get another chance to sign Downes
While Crystal Palace and Leeds also find themselves in the relegation battle, they could get a second chance to sign Downes if they manage to stay up at the expense of West Ham.
The West Ham No.12 may want to stay in the Premier League if he drops back into the Championship, so could therefore be tempted to give the Eagles or the Whites a different answer this summer compared to last.
Having said that, Downes supports West Ham, so it wouldn’t surprise us if he chose to stay even in the event of relegation.
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