Flynn Downes admits he wanted to stay at Swansea City prior to learning he was close to a move away from the club.
The midfielder joined West Ham United for an initial £9m in July as part of a deal that could be worth up to £14m with add-ons. It comes after an impressive 2021/22 season in which Downes excelled under Russell Martin following his switch from Ipswich Town.
And the Englishman has revealed he had no intention of leaving the Swans this summer having fallen in love with the club and his surroundings.
“I was a bit cautious about going [to Swansea],” he told the Evening Standard. “To be honest, I’d heard Swansea was a bit of a s***hole.
“It was the total opposite to what I’d expected. What a lovely place. The people were lovely, the club were so good.
“I loved it down there and, I’ll be honest, I wanted to stay. I’d gone from a year at Ipswich where I hated it to literally loving it, so I was all for staying. Then I came back for pre-season and from there I kind of knew I wasn’t going to…”
Downes was poised to join Crystal Palace until his boyhood club West Ham made a late move for his services. The 23-year-old was all set for a move to Selhurst Park until being told by Russell Martin that the Hammers had stepped in.
“I went to sleep thinking I was going to do a medical at Crystal Palace,” he recalled. “I woke up the next morning, went into Swansea, walked into the gaffer’s office and he was like: ‘Look, West Ham have been in contact’.
“It just feels surreal, really. I still can’t get over that I’m here, it’s mad.”
Downes' sole appearance for his new club came as a substitute in West Ham's 2-0 defeat to reigning Premier League champions Manchester City on the opening day of the campaign.
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