Sonny Perkins’ 2021/2022 campaign won’t go down as a breakthrough season for the 18-year-old but it could be the season in which he forced his way into David Moyes’ long-term plans.
The striker has enjoyed a superb season with the Hammers’ U23s in Premier League, netting eight goals and registering one assist in 19 appearances as the Hammers finished second in the league behind Manchester City’s U23s. Further to that, he also scored four and assisted one in four appearances for the U18s.
Perkins capped off his brilliant season with a wonderful finish in a rampant 5-0 victory over Derby County on Monday night, latching on to a through ball and calmly slotting it past the County stopper.
His latest goal, tweeted by the club below, is evidence of his speed, movement and finishing ability and will have no doubt caught the eye of David Moyes.
A slick finish from @SonnyPerkins9 last night! 👏
Highlights for our U23s big 5-0 win coming 🔜 pic.twitter.com/vhf7ATBszK
— West Ham United (@WestHam) May 3, 2022
Indeed, Perkins has been given a chance in the first-team this season, making three appearances across Europa League and Premier League competiton, including a start against Dinamo Zagreb in December.
With West Ham in desperate need of signing at least one striker this summer, ideally two, Perkins will have certainly given David Moyes food for thought as he considers his transfer strategy ahead of what is expected to be a busy summer at the club.
Of course, the striker is still young and is very inexperienced, so it would be a huge gamble for Moyes to give him extended playing time in the first-team next season, but his form for the U23s may have either convinced him to give him more minutes next season or sanction a loan deal for the striker to get competitive first-team football elsewhere next season.
Either way, Perkins is one of several academy prospects who are seemingly doing enough in the shadows of the first-team to suggest they can go on to play a consistent role for West Ham in the not-so-distant future.
