According to the various reliable sources from England, Aston Villa and Leeds United have initiated negotiations over the potential signing of 18-year-old West Ham United attacking prospect Sonny Perkins.
The teenage centre-forward started at the Leyton Orient youth setup before joining the West Ham United academy in January 2019. He has steadily progressed through the ranks and has made 31 appearances for the club’s Under-18 structure, scoring nine goals. Perkins also has netted ten goals in 28 matches for the Hammers’ Under-23 side.
Perkins made his first-team debut for the London club in November last year. He has since made three appearances but has yet to score a goal or set up an assist. A promising prospect, the 18-year-old is starting to attract interest from clubs in England, with Leeds United showing a liking towards the youngster and Aston Villa.
Perkins actually started a Europa League group stage defeat to Dinamo Zagreb, playing 87 minutes before he was substituted off by David Moyes, who seems to rate the teenager highly.
Perkins is said to have been demanding high wages at the London Stadium, and is set to move on after years with the Hammers through their academy.
Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano shared the news as the Whites push for another new signing this week at Elland Road.
“Leeds and Aston Villa have opened talks to sign promising forward Sonny Perkins,” he wrote.
“Perkins has made 3 appearances for West Ham. Both clubs want to sign him.”
Leeds have made a reputation for signing talented, young players who are unsettled at their parent club academies. They signed Wigan Athletic’s 20-year-old striker Joe Gelhardt in 2020 and 19-year-old midfielder Lewis Bate from Chelsea the year after – both in a similar fashion to how they plan on signing Perkins.
Victor Orta is someone who relishes these situations, even with academy players, he has proposals and presentations ready that show clear paths and goals to aim for the first team.
Tottenham enters the race
Tottenham Hotspur are vying for the signature of the England U18 starlet. As more than one team is interested in him, the youngster has a variety of factors to consider – play-time, future plans and wages, of course, before he signs his next contract. If Perkins does make the switch to Spurs, expect him to play a role in the future and not right away.
