West Ham United is delighted to announce that promising defender Josh Briggs has signed Scholarship terms with the Club.
Briggs moves to the Hammers from reigning NIFL Premiership champions Linfield and becomes the third Northern Irish youngster to make the switch to east London in recent months, following Callum Marshall and Patrick Kelly to the Irons.
Having put pen-to-paper on his deal to West Ham United, the 16-year-old defender will link up with Kevin Keens’ U18s at the home of the Academy of Football - Chadwell Heath.
“It’s a great achievement to join West Ham United and I am delighted to be here,” Briggs said. “I’m very excited to play for this Club and this Academy, and I’m very excited for the season ahead.
“West Ham United is a great Club. It’s a traditional club with family values at the core. Everyone is very supportive of each other here, and looks out for each other. There is a high standard across the entire Club, with some exceptional players, and I’m looking forward to developing here.”
Academy Manager Ricky Martin welcomed Briggs to the Club and is looking forward to seeing his development in Claret and Blue.
“It is a pleasure to welcome Josh to the West Ham United Academy. I am delighted he has joined us and will be continuing his development with the Club.
“Josh has displayed tremendous talent, natural instincts and a lot of potential during his formative years with Linfield and we’re thrilled to add him to our squad of developing players here at West Ham. I hope he enjoys a highly successful career with us.”
Born in North Belfast, Briggs is a graduate of the Irish FA JD Academy and began his footballing journey with Greenisland FC.
The young defender was spotted by Linfield and picked up by the Blues, initially representing the U16s for the South Belfast club.
Such was Briggs progression that the centre-back quickly progressed up to the U18s and then the U20s, and featured for Linfield’s second-string last season, starting the Steel & Sons Cup Final against Newington on Christmas Day 2021.
At international level, Briggs has represented Northern Ireland U16s and was called into the U17s squad earlier this summer.
Everyone at West Ham United would like to welcome Josh to the Club and wish him every success for his career in Claret and Blue.
