Former West Ham United rising star Jeremy Ngakia has explained why he left the club to join Watford over the summer, stating that he did not think first-team opportunities would be available at the London Stadium.
The Hammers youth-team product was highly rated at the club but spurned a new deal with the Irons to move to Vicarage Road, much to the frustration of the supporters.
With Pablo Zabaleta leaving West Ham at the end of last season, the club are short of options at right-back and Ngakia could well have had a role to play in the Premier League in 2020-21.
The defender has conducted a candid interview and admitted that he was not convinced that staying with the Hammers would have been in his best interests.
“I just thought that at this moment in my career, the most important thing for me to develop and to kick start my career, is to play games,” the former West Ham youngster told the Watford Observer.
“I didn’t think I was going to honestly get games at West Ham.
“It didn’t feel guaranteed and then Watford came in for me and it sounded very good, so it was a great opportunity for me and I had to take it.
“You’ve got to be brave, 100 per cent, and you’ve got to do what’s best for you.”
West Ham fielded Ryan Fredericks in the Premier League opener against Newcastle, while Ben Johnson played against Charlton Athletic in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.
The latter impressed in cameos at the end of last season, with an argument that the Hammers youngster should be handed the responsibility of starting against Arsenal this weekend.
One way or the other, Ngakia was clearly highly regarded at West Ham and would surely would have been in the mix for first-team minutes if he had opted to stay in East London.