Swansea City seem to have won the race for Armstrong Oko-Flex, a young winger who is coming of age at West Ham United within the Under 23 ranks. He also made his West Ham debut last week in Europe against Viborg.
Born in Dublin, Ireland, Armstrong Oko-Flex has already been recognised by his country of birth at a variety of levels which led to a move to Arsenal in 2013 when he was eleven. Celtic saw something in him and took him north Brie a few years where the player played two times for the hoops before West Ham brought him back to London. Armstrong at twenty years of age now is seen as ready to play in the championship amd it seems the swans have won the race for him.
Republic of Ireland under 21 manager Jim Crawford raved about Armstrong who has scored twelve goal for the under 23’s at West Ham last season. "He’s a player that will make people get off their seats. He entertains you, is good at one-on-one situations, creates opportunities for his team-mates and himself. He’s what people buy tickets for. He’s an exciting player and has a bright future ahead of him. The coaches at West Ham have been fantastic for Armstrong,” he tells The Athletic. "The way he’s been playing for the club has been really positive. We’ve had John O’Shea look at him and Alan Reynolds, our goalkeeping coach. We wanted to get as many eyes on him as possible. He’s the one to look out for. I’m just excited about his potential.”
Unsurprisingly West Ham fans want to see Armstrong out on loan and retained at their club to see what he can bring to the first team next season. His performances for the under 23 side has seen plenty of goals, and it’s now widely acknowledged Armstrong needs to play at a far higher level. A loan away has been endorsed with the last five days of the transfer window ahead of us. Russell Martin recently mentioned some ‘workarounds’ the club will have to do to get in new players and Armstrong seems to be one of those new recruits.
Let’s hope so.