Revealed: West Ham 6-figure signing agreed after they blow PL giants out of water
West Ham agreed the signing of striker Mipo Odubeko after offering him a more lucrative contract than Manchester United, Football Insider can reveal.
The Hammers announced last week they had completed the capture of the centre-forward four days after his 17th birthday.
A West Ham source has told Football Insider that Odubeko has been handed a contract worth between £4,000-£5,000-a-week by the club.
This is a more generous offer than the one on the table from his former club United, who had tried to seduce him with a series of offers after he quit their academy over the summer.
The Premier League giants were unwilling to offer anything more than schoolboy terms to the Republic of Ireland Under-17 international.
This opened the door to other clubs and West Ham blew United and the likes of Atletico Madrid out of the water with a long-term contract that had first been revealed by Football Insider as well as a pathway into their first team.
The Londoners have not signed Odubeko on a free transfer even though he was not attached to any club when the deal was finalised last week.
West Ham must pay a six-figure compensation fee to United in compensation for the teenager's development costs.
The club are convinced it is a bargain for the striker, who has an outstanding record in youth-team football, with his tally for United's various youth sides last season amounting to a remarkable 35 goals.