West Ham United’s return to the Championship after 14 years has been mixed. As the summer transfer window closes, fans at the London Stadium hope for more consistency from Nuno Espírito Santo’s team.

The Hammers had been tipped as the Championship’s pre-season title favourites due to the Portuguese’ previous experience winning the league, as well as the squad’s strength in E20 compared to many divisional opponents.

However, it took the East London club four games to record their first win, a 4-2 victory against fellow freshly relegated side Wolves.

The transfer window was again a mixed bag for the Irons, as they lost Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville for large payments, but they were able to keep Jarrod Bowen, and a total of nine new signings were added to Nuno’s side.

That includes EFL record buy Arne Engels from Celtic, but in recent days, there has been a lot of enthusiasm about the signing of 21-year-old Edvin Austbo from UEFA Champions League side Viking FK.

The Scandinavian market has recently begun to be treated much more seriously, and as a result, West Ham will hope to have uncovered a serious gem who has had much of transfer interest.

West Ham’s thrilling late move for Viking FK’s Edvin Austbo

While many of West Ham’s new signings bring experience or recent Championship pedigree, Austbo does not fit into either category, but it does not diminish the enthusiasm caused by his arrival.

At 21 years old, the left-winger has starred for Norway at the junior level and will soon be trying to secure a place in the senior squad for this season’s World Cup quarterfinalists.

Those are feats that may not be too far away if the left-winger can translate his previous Eliteserien form into the Championship, though it remains to be seen how much early gametime he will be given after playing the final 11 minutes against Wolves.

However, there is plenty of space for growth for the €12.9 million purchase, since he signed a four-year contract.

West Ham might have struck a coup with lesser Edvin Austbo, Viking FK transfer agreement.

The aforementioned agreement is one that West Ham fans will hope turns out to be a bargain, especially given Austbo’s track record at such a young age.

After scoring 13 goals in 39 appearances for Viking’s ‘II’ side, the Norwegian went on to score 18 goals and provide 13 assists, and with his former club competing in this season’s Champions League, it’s no surprise that one of the key reasons for such success has been in high demand for some time.

Edvin Austbo’s Viking FK record.

Appearances

78

Goals

18

Assists

13

Yellow cards.

5

LOSC Lille, a Ligue 1 club, had a deal in the range of what Viking accepted from West Ham rejected in January before Trabzonspor accepted an estimated £15 million bid.

However, this simply adds depth to the winger’s personality.

Edvin Austbo examined his future career prospects while rejecting the Trabzonspor move.

While for some, the temptation to move across Europe to a division like the Turkish Süper Lig, which has also improved its image in recent seasons, would undoubtedly be present.

Clearly, the Istanbul side negotiated a deal that Vikings couldn’t refuse, but Austbo didn’t see it that way.

Indeed, the wide winger would be battling for a starting spot on the left flank with Noah Savolio and Metehan Miramoglu, and as a result, Austbo declined the offer despite the cash package offered.

West Ham fans will have enjoyed Edvin Austbo’s comments before the Viking trade was completed.

Even before his move was confirmed on August 31st, Austbo would have won over East London supporters with his ambition to play at the London Stadium.

After an earlier bid was rejected, he stated, “I am aware of pretty much everything. It’s difficult to avoid. If Viking and an interested club reach an agreement, I’ll have to take a position. So far, it has not happened.

“I don’t know how big their bid was, or how much Viking are asking for, but West Ham is a cool club and are certainly of interest to me.”

With West Ham’s track record of producing highly regarded prospects, the young international will hope he made the correct decision, offering tough competition for fellow summer recruit Manor Solomon in the process.