Blissful Gesture Becomes Fan Favourite

Back in the 2023 season, Tim Steidten had started to take the reins in full force and ultimately decided that the next step for the club was to have a ‘feeder team’.

It was initially intended to be a deal that would result in the clubs having mutual benefits with each other, with an initial cash boost for the Austrian side, SK Austria Klagenfurt, and the intention that West Ham would send youth talents there to gain experience.

The cash boost for the Austrian side would total £1,470,000, which was provided to them through the player sale of Andy Irving to us.

Since Tim’s departure, it has been allegedly said that the Steidten deal with the Austrian side wasn’t totally legitimate and that perhaps something behind the scenes had occurred.

Nevertheless, before his move to West Ham, Andy Irving had spent his youth days at Hearts FC, which eventually led to attraction from Germany, where a move to Turkgucu Munchen on a free was sparked, but exactly a year later, he would go on to sign for Klagenfurt.

West Ham sparked a deal for the Scotsman on August 31st 2023; the club loaned him back to where he was bought from for the season, a very similar deal to our bizarre summer signing of Mohamadou Kante.

It is starting to seem like he was only signed so we could have the headline “West Ham United are pleased to announce the signing of Kante!”

At the beginning of the season, it became apparent that Andy Irving was starting to be involved within the squad for pre-season, which is worth noting as, surprisingly, Flynn Downes ended up having a shock move away from the club after a fee was agreed with Southampton, and supposedly Irvings performances had effects on the clubs decision to let Downes leave.

Irving would make his West Ham debut in a 3-0 loss against Chelsea at the London Stadium. He was substituted on in the 73rd minute, and despite the result, he turned heads with his stats as he’d achieved the best on the pitch within such a short period of time.

He would conveniently make his starting debut against Chelsea away at the Bridge. It did result in a 2-1 loss, but apart from the ludicrous decisions made that night, he was the hero.

Perhaps not the hero on the pitch, but he was the hero amongst the fans. His name was sung constantly throughout the 90, At points, the fans were signing “you’re only here to see the Irving”, as well as well… some other chants such as comparisons to Cole Palmer, to put it lightly.

In a recent interview with The Athletic, it was said that he is often one of the last players to leave after training. He’s also hired an athletic trainer to be successful in adapting to the Premier League at a quicker pace.

It is also said that his mindset he presents has made him a popular figure within the squad.

He might’ve joined us without an official announcement and through some alleged suspicious dealings, but he’s certainly becoming a fan favourite at a quick rate.