West Ham United striker Josh Landers has completed a season-long loan move to Scottish Championship side Ayr United.
Ayr officially announced the 19-year-old on Thursday after the clubs completed the deal before the Scottish transfer deadline.
The move is subject to international clearance, with Landers now looking to turn his prolific Academy form into regular senior football.
Josh Landers completes Ayr United loan
The move completes a deal which had been developing for several weeks.
Sky Sports reporter Anthony Joseph previously revealed that Ayr were pursuing Landers before confirming on Wednesday that the clubs were finalising a season-long loan and the striker was due to undergo a medical.
That process has now been completed.
Ayr United’s official Landers announcement confirms the West Ham youngster has joined until the end of the campaign.
Landers has made his ambition clear immediately.
The forward told Ayr that he wants to play “as many minutes as I can and score as many goals as I can.”
That is exactly what West Ham will want from the loan.
Landers leaves West Ham after remarkable four-goal display
The timing of the move comes after a remarkable individual performance for West Ham’s U21s.
Landers scored four times against Chelsea last weekend despite the young Hammers eventually losing 5-4.
That followed an impressive goalscoring start to the campaign and came with West Ham sporting director Mark Noble watching from the stands.
We previously covered how Landers’ goalscoring display put a major loan decision in front of West Ham.
He had also been included among Nuno Espírito Santo’s substitutes for West Ham’s opening Championship fixture against Burnley.
Regular first-team opportunities remained difficult to guarantee, however.
With Joël Piroe, Valentín Castellanos, Pablo Felipe and other attacking options available to Nuno, a senior loan gives Landers the chance to play consistently rather than spending most of the campaign in Premier League 2.
Ayr can give Landers the challenge West Ham need
Ayr represent a useful next step.
The Scottish Championship will expose Landers to regular senior football, physical defenders and the pressure of playing for league points every weekend.
The striker already gained senior experience during a loan spell with Boreham Wood last season.
He now has the opportunity to build substantially on that.
Ayr are next in action away to Partick Thistle on Saturday, meaning Landers could quickly be involved if international clearance arrives in time. Ayr’s official fixture list confirms the 3pm Scottish Championship game at Firhill.
The club have also published a new signing interview with Landers following his arrival.
For West Ham, the important thing is not simply whether Landers scores immediately.
It is whether one of the Academy’s most productive forwards can turn development-football output into consistent senior performances.
Our West Ham Academy guide will continue tracking Landers and the club’s other young players currently developing away from the first team.
