First Team Squad

Player profile and performance records.

Flynn Downes (Midfielder)

Squad Number: 12
Position: Midfielder
Born: 20th Jan 1999 (Brentwood, Essex)
Signed: 7th Jul 2022 (£10,000,000)
Contract: 5 years
Previous Club: Swansea City

KUMB Awards: None.

The West Ham fan was delighted to move to his favourite club when becoming David Moyes' third signing of pre-season.

"It's been my dream since I was a little boy to join this club - it's an absolute privilege," he said.

"This is my club, so I couldn't be more delighted. I'm glad to be here and I can't wait to get started."

2022/23 Match Notes & Ratings

vs Boreham Wood

4-1: Monday, 10th July
(Played 79 minutes)

No match comments.

vs Leicester City

1-2: Sunday, 28th May
(Played 90 minutes)

He has a long way to go if he is going to be a significant starting option for this club. He struggles passing forward, making decisions under pressure, covering runners, controlling the area between defence and midfield. Maybe he needs a different system, maybe it is just time to develop.

vs AZ Alkmaar

1-0: Thursday, 18th May
(Played 0 minutes, sub)

(Replaced Paqueta 90) Didn't even know this had happened, to be honest.

vs Brentford

0-2: Sunday, 14th May
(Played 90 minutes)

His performance made me revisit criticism of Rice's forward passing. His bad games would be Downes?EUR(TM)s best. The second goal comes from him backtracking and backtracking in possession.

vs Manchester United

1-0: Sunday, 7th May
(Played 0 minutes, sub)

(Replaced Paqueta, 90+5) Another sub used to eat up a few seconds - but he still had time to make one lung-bursting run into the corner in order to waste a bit more time as the seconds ebbed away.

vs Manchester City

0-3: Wednesday, 3rd May
(Played 90 minutes)

Silly foul for the freekick that leads to the first goal. Couldn?EUR(TM)t really do much but chase shadows.

vs Bournemouth

4-0: Sunday, 23rd April
(Played 14 minutes, sub)

(Replaced Paqueta 76) One stinging shot a good reminder that he's not just a destructive midfielder.

vs Gent

4-1: Thursday, 20th April
(Played 20 minutes, sub)

(Replaced Rice 70) All of the subs came into a game that had lost any competitive edge and saw out the game comfortably.

vs Arsenal

2-2: Sunday, 16th April
(Played 3 minutes, sub)

(Replaced Paqueta 87') Not on long.

vs Fulham

1-0: Saturday, 8th April
(Played 30 minutes, sub)

(Replaced Ings 60) Can barely do better from the bench. Just brought a life, a never say die attitude, and worked his nuts off. Strong challenge, good simple passes, covered gaps and was everywhere, really. His best by a long way.

vs Newcastle United

1-5: Wednesday, 5th April
(Played 27 minutes, sub)

(Replaced Soucek 63) What can you say? He's being sent into games that don't need him, don't suit him and he can't influence.

vs Southampton

1-0: Sunday, 2nd April
(Played 23 minutes, sub)

(Replaced Soucek 67) He didn't impose himself on the game at all, but he didn't have a negative impact. He is safer on the ball and kept it much better than Soucek.

vs Aston Villa

1-1: Sunday, 12th March

Did not play.

vs AEK Larnaca

2-0: Thursday, 9th March
(Played 90 minutes)

A good base in the midfield, and whilst it is frustrating to take that booking, he might have felt it was worth taking as the AEK midfield had a path to West Ham's defence.

vs Brighton & Hove Albion

0-4: Saturday, 4th March
(Played 15 minutes, sub)

(Replaced Soucek 75) Suffered a similar problem to Fornals. They couldn't come on and completely change the tone of a weak performance.

vs Manchester United

1-3: Wednesday, 1st March

Did not play.

vs Tottenham Hotspur

0-2: Sunday, 19th February
(Played 90 minutes)

A game where his role was to stand deeper in the areas Soucek left, then move to the right flank and play as a second right wing-back It's not that he did anything wrong, per se, but there was very little to do right. Neat and tidy, as ever, but his impact on the game was negligible and he offers nowhere near enough going forward to be playing in a midfield with such limited intent.

vs Chelsea

1-1: Saturday, 11th February
(Played 24 minutes, sub)

(Replaced Benrahma 66) Did his defensive work with little fuss and was effective at it.

vs Newcastle United

1-1: Saturday, 4th February

(Replaced Coufal 90) N/A

vs Derby County

2-0: Monday, 30th January
(Played 90 minutes)

A very composed game. There is something to the theory of him playing behind Paqueta and Rice, but it won't happen in this 3-4-3 shape. Knows his game and doesn't try to overdo it.

vs Everton

2-0: Saturday, 21st January
(Played 9 minutes, sub)

(Replaced Benrahma 81) Worked hard in his cameo.

vs Brentford

1-0: Saturday, 7th January
(Played 4 minutes, sub)

(Replaced Paqueta 86) N/A

vs Leeds United

2-2: Wednesday, 4th January

(Replaced Paqueta 79) Got stuck in and involved in the fun in the middle. It was needed, it had looked like Leeds might bully their way to victory.

vs Crystal Palace

1-2: Sunday, 6th November
(Played 27 minutes, sub)

(Replaced Soucek 63) Solid, unexceptional and of no real help.

vs FCSB

3-0: Thursday, 3rd November
(Played 90 minutes)

His hard work to regain possession in the FCSB half got West Ham off on the right foot. Should have scored and faded a touch, but a strong showing.

vs Manchester United

0-1: Sunday, 30th October
(Played 90 minutes)

Just a quiet and ineffective game. He was better in the first half, but there was enough space to play in that the side needed someone who would exploit it. By the second half, he was just lost and floating around in a way that looked aimless.

vs Silkeborg

1-0: Thursday, 27th October
(Played 22 minutes, sub)

As with all the subs, they came into a flat and dead game and it stayed safely there.

vs AFC Bournemouth

2-0: Monday, 24th October
(Played 90 minutes)

An interesting role, Downes was almost the most defensive player, even though he was ahead of Rice and Soucek. His job seemed to be about putting pressure on any midfielders dropping into the defence to play out, putting pressure on Lerma especially.

vs Liverpool

0-1: Wednesday, 19th October
(Played 90 minutes)

A very promising performance, although his use of the ball could have improved, a 66% accuracy not really good enough, even if he was tasked with some of the more difficult passes as he went on ahead of Rice and Soucek. But slotted in well, not at all overawed and looked ?EUR~Premier League quality.?EUR(TM)

vs Anderlecht

2-1: Thursday, 13th October
(Played 90 minutes)

Another good performance and one with the bite and snap with his defending that we have already come to expect. Looks very much the player that you might get were Nobes and Rice to run into each other at 200mph (use your imaginations, people).

vs Fulham

3-1: Sunday, 9th October
(Played 0 minutes, sub)

(Replaced Fornals 90) N/A

vs RSC Anderlecht

1-0: Thursday, 6th October
(Played 90 minutes)

Best player on the pitch. Bites into tackles, gnaws away at players as they hold the ball, covers ground, disciplined, neat passer. He's very Nobes, but more disciplined and less creative.

vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

2-0: Saturday, 1st October

Did not play.

vs Everton

0-1: Sunday, 18th September

Did not play.

vs FCSB

3-1: Thursday, 8th September
(Played 90 minutes)

A very effective performance, reminiscent of more early-days Rice. Simple, quiet, considered. Get in, win the ball, give it to someone else and make space if they want to give it back. Add in a lovely weighted pass to Scamacca and it's a performance that will have excited many, and they're desperate for him to be good anyway.

vs Chelsea

1-2: Saturday, 3rd September

Did not play.

vs Tottenham Hotspur

1-1: Wednesday, 31st August

Did not play.

vs Aston Villa

1-0: Sunday, 28th August

Did not play.

vs Viborg FF

3-0: Thursday, 25th August
(Played 22 minutes, sub)

(Replaced Soucek 68) Looked both eager and controlled, in that he went in determined when the ball was in his zone, but didn't chase the game.