Leeds have signed 18-year-old Sonny Perkins to a three-year deal after the striker left West Ham last month with a compensation payment to be decided by a court if the clubs are unable to reach an agreement
- The 18-year-old joins Leeds United on a three-year deal from West Ham
- Sonny Perkins left West Ham in June and had attracted a lot of interest
- Leeds beat Tottenham and Aston Villa for the youngster’s signature
leeds signed earlier west ham Forward Sonny Perkins, 18, on a three-year contract.
West Ham are entitled to compensation for Perkins and a fee will be assessed by a court if they and Leeds are unable to reach an agreement.
The England youth international attracted the attention of a number of clubs after it became clear he would not be signing a new contract with the east London club.
Leeds prevailed against stiff competition to sign the England youth international for three years
Leeds beat out competition from Aston Villa and Tottenham to sign the young striker.
Perkins will initially start with the U21 squad for the coming season, according to a statement from Leeds.
It read: “Sonny will become the club’s seventh summer signing following the arrival of Brenden Aaronson, Rasmus Kristensen, Marc Roca, Darko Gyabi, Tyler Adams and Luis Sinisterra.
Leeds said the forward will initially link with the Under-21s for the upcoming season
“He will initially join the U21 team for the coming season.”
Perkins is an established England youth international who has played a total of 14 games at different age groups. Leeds will hope he could make the step up to the senior team one day.
In an impressive season in Premier League 2 for Perkins, he scored ten goals in 20 games for West Ham last season.
The highly-rated youngster impressed for West Ham in Premier League Two last season
Ironically, he made his Premier League debut against Leeds last season and also appeared in Europe, capturing for West Ham against Rapid Vienna and Dynamo Zagreb.
Meanwhile, midfielder Jamie Shackleton has completed his loan move to Millwall for the season.
The 22-year-old midfielder has Premier League and Championship experience, having played a role in the Whites’ promotion to the top flight in 2019-20 and then playing irregularly during Leeds’ two-year stint in the top flight so far.
