West Ham have just announced the capture of Fulham’s exciting right-back, and former Spurs youngster, Ryan Fredericks.
25-year-old Fredericks has joined the Hammers on a four-year contract, a deal effective of July 1. The dynamic right-back, who only missed two of Fulham’s 46 Championship games, signs up at the Boleyn Ground only weeks after helping the Cottagers gain promotion.
Lauded by new West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini, Fredericks is likely to head in to the 2018/19 Premier League campaign as the first-choice right-back at the club. Pellegrini said of his new charge: “He has good experience, with more than 150 senior appearances already but, at 25, he is still a young player with his best years ahead of him.”
With this almost glowing recommendation from his manager on the day of his signing, and the likelihood that he’ll be first choice or at least fighting it out with the older Pablo Zabaleta, comes the realisation that former Leeds United youngster Sam Byram could be knocked further back down the Hammers pecking order.
After an injury-hit start to his West Ham career, the London Evening Standard say that Byram is “expected to leave London Stadium” this summer. 24-year-old Byram featured in only five Premier League games this season, missing 13 games through a thigh muscle injury and a further 10 games to an ankle injury.
These five 2017/18 Premier League games add to the 18 appearances he made in his first season at the London club, missing 13 games that season with a hamstring injury. In total, since his £4.3 million move to the London club, Byram has featured in just 36 total games for the Hammers.
The arrival of a fit Fredericks will likely signal that West Ham will move the injury-stricken Byram away from the club.
