West Ham United turned down a bid from Premier League rivals Newcastle United for Harrison Ashby earlier this month.
The 21-year-old Scottish right-back, whose contract is set to expire in the summer, was the subject of transfer interest from the Magpies earlier this season, with Newcastle making an unsuccessful bid to sign the defender at the back end of the summer window.
First reported by the Daily Mail, football.london understands that Newcastle again submitted a bid to sign Ashby earlier this month. However, West Ham rejected that bid.
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Across the Papa John’s Trophy and Premier League 2 this season, Ashby has only made six appearances for the club’s under-21s side. The defender has, however, played twice for the first-team in the Europa Conference League this season, starting in the home win over Viborg in August and making a substitute appearance during November’s win away at FCSB.
Ashby was not in the under-21s’ squad who faced Manchester United in Premier League 2 on Friday night, with Mark Robson’s side losing 3-2. Pierre Ekwah and Divin Mubama gave West Ham an early 2-0 lead, only for the Red Devils to score three second half goals after Ekwah was taken off at the break.
That proved to be Ekwah’s final outing for West Ham. On Monday, Ekwah joined Championship side Sunderland on a permanent deal, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract with the Black Cats.
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