West Ham fan favourite Kevin Nolan says he is surprised that the club allowed a key player to leave.

It was a Summer full of change for West Ham United. From the recruitment strategy to the manager, almost everything behind the scenes was impacted in some way shape or form. With this comes a lot of new signings and, as a result, a lot of outgoings.

While some departures were expected, such as Kurt Zouma, others came as a bigger surprise. Arguably the biggest shock was James Ward-Prowse’s loan to Nottingham Forest. The midfielder had been vital to David Moyes last season and many thought he could play a big role for Julen Lopetegui.

One of his coaches from last season, Kevin Nolan, says he’s shocked by the decision to allow the Englishman to leave. “I must admit I’m very surprised that West Ham let him go. I get that Julen wants to bring in his own players but James Ward-Prowse is one of those players who never does anything wrong,” he told the Football Daily podcast “He makes the correct decision and just gets the game. His set-pieces are phenomenal.”

Obviously the Hammers offloaded him in order to free up wages for Carlos Soler, but many have questioned whether or not it’s really an upgrade. Ward-Prowse’s impact last season really does go under appreciated, hopefully letting him go out on loan will not be a decision the Irons live to regret.