West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan has explained that he was pleased with Sam Byram’s debut performance for the club in their 2-2 draw with Manchester City at the weekend.
The Hammers snapped up the right-back, who can also play as a midfielder, from Leeds United on a four-and-a-half-year deal last week, beating off competition from Premier League rivals Everton.
Byram was named on the bench against the Citizens, but the 22-year-old had to come on as a 13th minute substitute at Upton Park in place of the injured Carl Jenkinson.
Although Byram struggled with cramp at the end, Sullivan insisted that he was satisfied with the youngster’s performance, given the Premier League is a huge step up on the Championship.
“I thought Sam Byram, who wasn’t expected to play, did very well on his debut”, he wrote on his blog on the club website.
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“He had cramp at the end as he’d missed a few days of training. It’s a big jump and he’s got to adapt but I think he did well.”
Byram, who also drew praise from West Ham boss Slaven Bilic after the game, is a product of Leeds’ youth system.
The defender made 24 appearances in all competitions for Leeds in the present campaign, while he turned out 143 times for the Whites in total.
