Harrison Ashby has completed his move to Newcastle in a £3m deal, in a move which hasn’t been well received by many connected with the club.

The Academy graduate, who immersed himself in the first team last season with high hopes from all quarters, joined West Ham when he was just 9 years old and worked his way up through our famed Academy of Football.

It was then reported exclusively last summer by our famed ITK ExWHUEmployee that the talented right-back had turned down a contract offer at West Ham and Newcastle were looking like his most likely destination.

Ex then revealed that the move didn’t get over the line then as our Hammers were unable to find an adequate replacement. The club had since gone back to the table with Ashby in the hope an agreement would be reached, but unfortunately the offers were rejected, as confirmed by our man-in-the-know in November last year.

Newcastle had initially offered West Ham £2m for his services, then with this rejected by our Hammers, the Magpies opted to match the £3m asking price instead of going to tribunal in the summer.

The move is a sad one for many connected with West Ham, with a highly rated Academy prospect moving on to a Premier League rival, which echoes many of the Academy departures of late.

The West Ham Way Podcast host Dave Walker expressed his disappointment on the show this week, and stressed that a re-think in wage caps for younger players is needed, otherwise this could continue as a running theme in East London.

“This doesn’t sit well with me at all,” exclaimed Walker. “It is clear that Newcastle, who have all that financial muscle, see something special in Ashby and are happy to pay the wages – why aren’t we?!

“I appreciate the club had their fingers burnt with Reece Oxford when they paid him a high salary and it backfired – but that was years ago. The club need to wake up otherwise this is going to keep happening, with our top young talents departing for a better wage.”