Sam Byram could have been an Everton player, but in joining West Ham he has helped Jonjoe Kenny make his breakthrough.
Everton thought they had signed one of the stars of the future in 2016 when they agreed a deal to sign Sam Byram from Leeds United.
The versatile full-back though turned his back on a move to the Toffees and chose to switch to West Ham instead.
His switch to West Ham has not been the roaring success he would have hoped.
This season he has made only two starts and played 184 minutes of Premier League football.
There is not a strong argument to suggest he would have been better off at Everton instead, with the Toffees like West Ham changing their manager over the past 12 months amid poor results.
However if he was at Everton then he would have made life more complicated for their breakthrough star Jonjoe Kenny.
The under-20 World Cup winner has been one of the few positives for Everton this season amid a difficult campaign.
He seized the opportunity amid Seamus Coleman’s injury to establish himself in Everton’s first team and this might not have have been possible if he was further down the pecking order.
The future is very bright for Kenny despite Coleman’s return from injury, but Byram is left in an uncertain situation at West Ham.
He may have to move on this summer to re-establish his career amid a lack of opportunities at the London Stadium.
Everton won’t be offering him a second chance.
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