Liverpool is among few clubs in contemporary soccer that usually doesn’t carry the burden of nonperforming players, though they have their own definition of non-performance. Their winger Stewart Downing has recently been one of their dislikes and that is why they mostly rested him in the last season, but now they have one reason to delight, and that is; West Ham seems to be interested in taking over their despised player. If rumors are to be believed, 29-year-old England international has done all the paperwork to make a shift to Boleyn, however, he still needs to undergo a compulsory medical test along with discussing some personal terms with The Hammers. As far Downing’s performance playing for The Reds is concerned, he has scored seven goals in his 91 matches including five goals in 2012-13 campaign alone. In fact, he joined them in July 2011 at an impressive £20m figure and remained one of their key players throughout the first season and then came his downfall and he almost disappeared from last season’s matches.
His playing style and skills to embrace a new atmosphere has always been on the radar of manager Brendan Rodgers who also criticized him heavily at one point, but nothing worked and Downing was apparently asked to leave the club – though unofficially. Some media news also revealed that he has been clearly informed that he would be sold out very soon and Liverpool finally found a buyer who is equally interested in him as they were when they brought him from Aston Villa. If we look at Downing’s recent infield performances, he has been more prone towards packing his bags to make a shift from London.
The deal price, though not confirmed, is reportedly around £5m which is not bad looking at his performances in recent times. Now, if he joins West Ham, he would follow striker Andy Carroll, and hopefully, he can find his favorite position as well. This is not the first time a player has been neglected by a club over a long period of time, we have seen in the past how some players became a real performer when they are shifted to their favorite places – remember Mario Balotelli? Next season will tell if Liverpool’s decision to part its ways with the winger is sensible or they missed an important player in a hurry. Let’s wait and watch.