West Ham United do not have a January recall option in the season-long loan deal with Bristol City for midfielder George Earthy, it has been revealed.
The 20-year-old is highly rated at the London Stadium after emerging through the club’s academy last season. He has starred throughout various youth levels and was a part of the Hammers’ FA Youth Cup winning team in 2023, where he scored in a 5-1 victory over Arsenal in the final.
This saw Earthy given opportunities in the first team last season. He made his senior debut in March in a Europa League clash against Freiburg before following that up with his maiden Premier League appearance a month later.
The England under-20 international had featured prominently for the club’s under-21 side in the EFL Trophy. Featuring against first team squads from League One and Two, he found the back of the net against Bristol Rovers, Cheltenham Town and Colchester United. However, it was the playmaker’s strike against Luton Town in the Premier League that saw him hit the headlines.
After such a promising start, West Ham made the decision to send Earthy out on loan to garner regular first team action. Bristol City decided to take a chance, bringing him to Ashton Gate on a season-long deal.
He appeared as a late substitute in the Robins’ first two fixtures of the campaign but missed the majority of September with an ankle injury. A return to the squad came at the end of the month as an unused substitute before returning to the pitch for the final few minutes in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Cardiff City.
The youngster is a part of England’s under-20 squad once again for the upcoming games against Italy and Czech Republic. This will see him given the opportunity to up his minutes before returning to Bristol. West Ham will be hoping that he begins to feature on a regular basis, although Claret & Hugh claim that the deal with Bristol City does not include an early break clause, meaning he will remain with the Championship outfit for the remainder of the season regardless of minutes.
Writer’s View
It is not uncommon for Premier League clubs to include a January recall option for their youngsters when they move to a club in a lower division on a temporary basis. This is to give the player a safety net in case they fall out of favour or fail to break into first team plans. In other instances, the break clause could be used if a player excels at one club to allow him to move somewhere else at a higher level. This was seen last season with Luton Town’s Joe Taylor. The striker impressed at Colchester United, was recalled in January before joining Lincoln City to try his luck at League One football.
For West Ham to not include the clause is unusual, meaning they must have had some faith that he will be given ample playing time at Bristol City. It’s still early doors though and there should be no cause for concern just yet, especially because the midfielder missed a chunk of games through injury.
Head of Writing
