West Ham ‘spotted’ France U19 talent at young age – Parent explains why he ‘never played there’

Despite only scoring two goals in 27 league games this season, the hype around Mohamed-Ali Cho certainly hasn’t gone away.

The 18-year-old is still seen as one of the more exciting talents in France at the moment, and West Ham United had a chance to sign him at a young age.

In fact, they were very close to doing so, but it appears that the youngster’s family’s plans put an end to that, because a stay in England wasn’t something they were looking for at the time.

Failing to move to West Ham, the player eventually spent a chunk of his youth with Paris Saint-Germain before eventually landing on these shores, developing for four and a half years with Everton.

He then went back to France, where his current Angers SCO welcomed him.

The France U19 international is expected to eventually leave for a hefty fee, but it could easily have been West Ham, as explained by his mother in an interview with Ouest-France.

Recalling her son’s childhood, which led him to spend the first seven years of his life in London, Samia explained: “In London, Momo had been spotted by West Ham, but because we were returning to France, he never played there. 

“When he got here, he signed at Chantilly towards the end of 2010, and on one his first games, a man came to tell us that there was something there. That exchange, we talk about it often, it marked us. We therefore decided to find a more structured club.”

That led them to find Paris Saint-Germain, where he stayed until 2015, when a move back to England took place, and he found a spot in Everton’s academy.