West Ham United have agreed an undisclosed fee for Swansea City midfielder Flynn Downes, who has penned a five-year contract with the option of a further 12 months.
The 23-year-old enjoyed a successful year with the Swans in 2021/22, finishing the campaign with the highest passing accuracy of all Sky Bet Championship players.
A lifelong Hammer, Downes completed his apprenticeship at Ipswich Town and made 100 appearances for the Tractor Boys before earning his move to South Wales.
In total, he has featured 149 times at senior level and been capped six times for England Under-20s.
“It’s a surreal feeling to have joined my boyhood Club,” Downes told West Ham’s website. “I feel like I’m dreaming.
“It’s been my dream since I was a little boy to join this Club – it’s an absolute privilege. This is my Club, so I couldn’t be more delighted. I’m glad to be here and I can’t wait to get started.
“I want to be the best I can be and this feels like the perfect opportunity to test myself against the very best players in the Premier League.
“Players have come to West Ham from the Championship and progressed to international honours. That’s something you can’t ignore. The manager’s track record of bringing players through was a big motivation in me joining the Club.
“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to be a West Ham player.”
Hammers boss David Moyes said: “We are pleased to have signed Flynn and are looking forward to bringing him into the group.
“We think he’s got good energy. We think he’s got a lot of things which we have about our team, which we would want to keep and want to add to. I’m looking forward to it.
“We brought Jarrod Bowen from a similar situation at Hull, so we’re always trying to find boys from the Championship who we think are going to step up to become Premier League players. I’m hoping that Flynn does. I think there’s a good chance as he’s got an awful lot of good attributes.”
