Flynn Downes completed his season-long loan spell at Southampton in style as the Saints defeated Leeds United 1-0 in the EFL Championship Play-Off final at Wembley on Sunday.
The midfielder was in outstanding form at the Home of Football, where Adam Armstrong’s first-half goal secured an immediate return to the Premier League for the Hampshire club.
Downes made more tackles than anyone else on the pitch, with seven, while he also made a vital block to keep out Crysencio Summerville’s goal-bound shot early in the second half.
The 25-year-old ended his stay at St Mary’s Stadium with 37 appearances, two goals and three assists to his name, and a Play-Off winner’s medal around his neck.
Elsewhere, Nathan Trott’s 2023/24 season loan spell at Danish Superliga club Vejle BK is also over. The goalkeeper started newly-promoted Vejle’s first 31 matches, keeping eight clean sheets and conceding just 35 goals.
The Jutland club finished the 22-round regular season with just 19 points and in eleventh place, but then won five and drew two of their first nine relegation round games to move to 36 points, up to ninth and safe from relegation.
With their Superliga place assured, Vejle’s head coach Ivan Prelec opted to rest Trott and hand Slovenian Igor Vekić a debut in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Randers.
With Downes and Trott’s seasons now over, so all West Ham United’s on-loan players have now completed their respective 2023/24 campaigns.
