Few West Ham United supporters questioned the club’s decision to sell Sam Byram in the summer after a poor spell at the London Stadium.
Sky Sports reported that he joined the Hammers for £4 million. But he managed to make just 36 appearances in all competitions before heading to Norwich City in a £750,000 deal in the summer (fee reported by Sky Sports).
Byram made a fairly promising start to life with West Ham. But he never looked as though he was going to establish himself as the club’s first-choice right-back. He headed out on loan to Nottingham Forest last season as Ryan Fredericks was brought in to provide competition for Pablo Zabaleta.
Unfortunately, his time with Forest was plagued by injury. And it seemed to be a good piece of business to sell the 26-year-old to the Canaries – even if the move saw the Irons make a loss.
But the early stages of Byram’s Carrow Road career suggest that West Ham may have actually made an error in letting the defender go for such a small amount.
Potential West Ham error?
Byram made his first Premier League start for Daniel Farke’s side at the weekend. It looked to be a daunting task ahead for the Englishman with Manchester City travelling to Norfolk.
But Norwich were outstanding, and Byram was brilliant as they stunned City and won 3-2. He was tasked with keeping the likes of Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva quiet. But no player on the pitch won more challenges than the full-back, according to Whoscored.com.
Of course, West Ham are not going to be kicking themselves off the back of one performance. But Norwich have done an incredible job of uncovering gems for next to no money – and Byram’s display just hints that he may have the potential to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Teemu Pukki and Emi Buendia.
And his full Premier League debut for Norwich just suggests that West Ham may end up reflecting on the decision to sell Byram for a six-figure fee as a poor piece of business.