West Ham have announced that midfielder Josh Cullen has joined Charlton Athletic on a season-long loan.
In a statement on the West Ham website, the club confirmed that the 22-year-old had joined the ranks at The Valley on a one-year loan deal.
Addicks manager Lee Bowyer stated on Charlton's official site: “This is one that we thought was going to be out of our reach to be honest.
“He’s a very good player, good experience in this league and went to the Championship last season so we thought he was going to be out of our reach. We had to just hang in there and bide our time and thankfully he’s chosen to come to us.”
Cullen spent the early stages of last season on loan at Championship side Bolton Wanderers, but returned to the Hammers in the second half of the season, where he made just two Premier League starts.
Following the arrival of Jack Wilshere at the London Stadium and the emergence of Declan Rice, the young central midfielder looked set to miss out of game time throughout the 2018/19 campaign at West Ham.
Cullen stated: “Lee Bowyer was a central midfielder like myself so I felt that coming here would help me learn and develop myself as a player under a manager with the experience that he had with the qualities he had as a player as well. I’m really happy to be here and can’t wait to get started.”
Charlton Athletic have been making headlines off the pitch more so than on in recent times, and have started the League One somewhat averagely, picking up five points from as many matches, but will be hoping that the arrival of Cullen can help them progress up the league table.
The Verdict
The highly-rated 22-year-old midfielder is a terrific addition to the current Charlton Athletic squad.
With the problems going on off the Pitch, Lee Bowyer will be hoping that Cullen can help the Addicks on the pitch this season, and improve on last season’s league standings.
The Hammers-owned midfielder has proved he has what it takes to play at the top level, and will be looking to prove his talent in League One this season.