Leeds United are reportedly in talks with Sonny Perkins over a free transfer as he is set to let his West Ham contract run its course. The 18-year-old is one of the most promising young players in East London but is now exploring the possibility of a move.
Journalist Fabrizio Romano claims that Leeds, as well as Aston Villa, have opened talks with his representatives over a move once his Hammers deal expires. Should either club agree a deal for the young attacker, they will be due to pay West Ham compensation due to their development of the player in the last few years.
If he was to be signed by the Whites, he would likely initially join the Under-23 squad with a view to moving up to the senior squad. Although, given his desire to leave West Ham, it certainly seems as though he might be hoping for more first-team involvement.
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We have put together a profile for Perkins with all the details of what Leeds supporters can expect if he is signed this summer.
What has he done so far?
At the age of just 18, Perkins hasn’t had chance to make too much of a splash at the top level yet but he has been very good at youth level. After impressing at the lower levels of West Ham’s youth set up, he continued to shine for the club’s Under-18 side.
A promotion to the Under-23 squad followed and he took to the Premier League 2 like a duck to water. In 21 appearances in the youth league, he scored 12 goals and added one assist after being used in a handful of different positions across the frontline. Primarily operating as a striker, Perkins can also play on either wing or in the number 10 position where he has also enjoyed plenty of success.
Such was the quality of his impact for the U23s, he was handed his first-team debut by David Moyes in West Ham’s Europa League trip to Rapid Vienna before being given his first start in the reverse fixture. Leeds fans may recognise his name as his Premier League debut then came in their 3-2 win at the London Stadium in January as he replaced Issa Diop with three minutes left. Perkins was awarded the Dylan Tombides award at the end of the season, the award given to West Ham’s outstanding academy scholar.
He also has experience at international level as he has represented England U15s, U16s, U17s and most recently U18s with whom he has scored three goals in eight appearances.
What would he bring to Leeds?
If signed, Perkins would be the latest bright English talent to join Leeds as part of Victor Orta’s conscious drive to strengthen the club’s youth system. He only has to look at players like Joe Gelhardt and Sam Greenwood for inspiration as both have made the step up to the first team recently. He would certainly bring more quality to the U23s squad with real potential to follow the two aforementioned players into Jesse Marsch’s first team.
Perkins is a striker that possesses all of the attributes required to be a successful number nine in the modern game with pace, great movement and a predatory instinct when he finds himself in front of goal. Another real strength of his game is that he is comfortable finishing with both feet which helps to explain why he is capable of operating on either wing.
What has been said about him?
As someone who worked very closely with Perkins in the West Ham academy, Carlton Cole had nothing but good things to say about the youngster following his debut for the club in the Europa League. The former Hammers frontman was speaking as part of BT Sport’s panel covering the match.
“Sonny’s a great lad, he’s always asking questions. He’s always around the training ground really upbeat,” he claimed. “It’s quite funny because when I first came to the club, I came in at under 16s and he’d just come in, three years ago and no one knew where his best position was so it was quite funny because everyone was scratching their heads.
“Everyone’s played him in different positions, they’ve played him left-back, centre midfield, centre half, attacking midfield but he’s such a good footballer that we didn’t know where to put him. The only place they didn’t put him was up front so this season with a few injuries in the U23s, he’s gone up front and he’s just started scoring goals, no one knew!”
Having also seen Perkins succeeding for the youth sides at West Ham, Tony Cottee had praise for him after the cameo against Rapid Vienna. He said on Twitter: “Well done to @SonnyPerkins9 on making his debut. Great to see the Academy still producing players and I personally love to see a 17-year-old being given a chance! A day I will never forget of mine… looking forward to seeing Sonny progress.”
Declan Rice also paid tribute to the youngster after making his debut. He posted a picture to his Instagram story with Perkins paired with the caption: “The debutant! Buzzing for you brother, future is bright.”
