Sunderland are said to be interested in West Ham striker Divin Mubama – but would he be a good signing for the Black Cats?
The 19-year-old is set to leave the London Stadium following the end of his contract this summer, after reportedly turning down a new deal. Mubama has made 18 senior appearances for the Hammers but featured just five times off the bench in the Premier League during the 2023/24 season.
To find out more, we caught up with James Jones from the We Are West Ham Podcast to ask about the player’s situation.
How has Mubama fared at West Ham?
JJ: “When he first started breaking into the first team there was an initial feeling amongst the fans that he could be the answer to West Ham’s very well reported striker curse.
At West Ham we love an academy product, historically our academy has been very good so there was a lot of excitement around him. But his game time didn’t really match the hype that was coming out of the club and people who were watching him regularly for the development squad.
“Partly that was down to David Moyes and his lack of trust for youth. Mubama didn’t really get the opportunity to show what he could do, but when he did play I think there was a general feeling that perhaps he wasn’t actually as good as people made out for the level we needed him to be at.”
Why has he turned down a new deal at West Ham?
JJ: “I think he’s doing the right thing by turning it down. He was in and out of the first team squad and then the only opportunities he really got was when he was starting in meaningless games in Europe against very poor teams or early stages of FA Cup or League Cup games. The rest of his time was coming off the bench with five minutes to go.
