"I feel like I’m dreaming" says Flynn Downes as he joins boyhood club West Ham

Flynn Downes has swapped the Championship for the Premier League by joining West Ham on a five-year contract – with the switch made even more special because the Hammers are his boyhood club.

The 23-year-old moves to the London Stadium from Swansea having impressed across his 38 appearances for the club last season after ending his 15-year association with Ipswich Town in 2021.

It wouldn't be long before Downes made a move into the top-flight following interest from David Moyes, who has compared the move to that of Jarrod Bowen back in 2020.

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Downes, meanwhile, was in state of disbelief after being in League One just over a year ago having supported West Ham throughout his life.

The Brentwood-born star told the club: "It's a surreal feeling to have joined my boyhood club, I feel like I'm dreaming.

"The manager's track record of bringing players through was a big motivation in me joining the club.

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"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."

West Ham finished seventh in the Premier League last season while reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League, this season they will compete in the Europa Conference League should they come through a play-off.

Moyes added of his new signing: "We think he's got good energy. We think he's got a lot of things which we have about our team, which would want to keep and want to add to.

"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."

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