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Andy Irving has cemented himself as a sort of cult hero at West Ham United this season, but his career is nothing short of spectacular...

Starting his footballing journey in his homeland of Scotland, Irving came through the academy of SPFL side Hearts. He made his debut for his childhood club at only 18 years old during the 18/19 season, where he also had a loan spell to Scottish Championship side, Falkirk. The season prior, he was loaned to Berwick Rangers in the fourth tier of Scotland.




So far, nothing out of the ordinary, right? Wrong! It took Irving one Hearts game to create some chaos.

His debut came in a Scottish League Cup tie against Cove Rangers, on the 18th of July 2018. A month prior, Irving signed a contract extension with Hearts, however this had not been correctly lodged with the Scottish FA. This meant that Irving had been ineligible to play the game, yet he still played. As a result, Hearts were deducted two points from the group stages and fined £10,000.

The last two seasons of Irving at Hearts saw him get gradually more and more game time. In the 19/20 season, he made 25 appearances and scored his first goal for Hearts in a 1-1 against Dundee United in the Scottish League Cup. After relegation, a young Irving stuck by his club for the 20/21 season, making 27 appearances as they won the Scottish Championship and got promoted.

Coming up to the next season, Irving’s contract was expiring. You would assume Hearts would be eager to keep their academy product who was becoming a key player, but no deal was made, and Andy was free to leave.

He made a move that was almost totally unprecedented, one that no one can really predict, as he signed for third tier German side, Türkgücü München.

Irving’s side had a strange season. If you were to look at the league table, Türkgücü München would be last with zero points and zero games played. The team had their results deleted after the 31st matchday, where they ceased to play for financial reasons. They were also deducted eleven points earlier on – nine after they filed for insolvency and two more for condition mistakes. Irving himself played 23 times for the team, scoring once.

The Portobello Pirlo was now on the look for another club. With another surprising move, Irving went from relegated from the German third tier to the Austrian Bundesliga – when he was picked up by Austria Klagenfurt. It was here that he finally was able to show his talents.

Klagenfurt registered an impressive 6th place finish, qualifying for the Championship round which offered European competitions, which Klagenfurt failed to qualify for. In the 22/23 season, Irving got himself six goals and seven assists in all competitions.




His passing statistics impressed – sitting in the 91st percentile for chances created when compared to other midfielders in the league. For goals, he was in the 87th percentile compared to midfielders. For dribbling, he was once again in the 87th percentile. Irving proved himself as a real talent.

It was after this season that we signed him, in a move that raised eyebrows. Of course, it is near impossible to find avid watchers of the Austrian Bundesliga within our fanbase, so no one truly knew who he was. Personally, I assumed he was a Moyes signing – given the Scottish link. Now we have some idea of why he signed.

West Ham and Austria Klagenfurt were supposed to become affiliates, supposedly set up by Tim Steidten. Irving was a deal to signify this coming together, and to financially aid the Austrians – costing us £1.6 million. For reasons I’m not sure of, the affiliate link never officially went through. Similarly, Irving’s transfer was never officially announced.

Irving spent the 23/24 season on loan at Klagenfurt, where he put up more impressive numbers. Klagenfurt finished 4th, no thanks to Irving’s 9 goals and 4 assists in the league.

Andy was the highest goalscorer from his position. He was the leading player for Klagenfurt, sitting in the 95th percentile for touches. He even managed to bag a 22-minute hattrick against RB Salzburg to win 4-3.

The legend of Andy Irving is now ongoing at West Ham, as he forced his way into the team under both Lopetegui and Potter. We may joke about the Portobello Pirlo, but the fact his hard work has taken him from the third tier of Germany to Premier League in just 3 years proves that Irving is deserving of his spot.

Who knows where he will end up next? Given his current trajectory, I wouldn’t rule out a Real Madrid or Inter Milan.

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