It will be a case of friends reunited as four of West Ham United's rising stars went out on loan on Thursday.
Robert Hall has joined Birmingham City, Blair Turgott has gone to Bradford City, Danny Potts has moved to Colchester United and Paul McCallum will be making AFC Wimbledon his new temporary home after all four completed loan moves on Thursday afternoon. The quartet have all been key factors in the Development Squad's table-topping start to the season and with qualification already secured for the Barclays U21 Premier League Elite Group Stage, Sam Allardyce has given the green light for the youngsters to gain valuable first-team experience away from the club.
Hall will link up with fellow Hammers loanee Ravel Morrison, who has scored his first goal for the Blues on Saturday with a stunning volley against Hull City. Hall featured in both of West Ham United's Capital One Cup games this season and almost opened his Hammers account when his deflected shot hit the crossbar against Wigan Athletic. The England Under-19 international has also made his Barclays Premier League debut in the 3-0 home win against Fulham.
There will be a number of other familiar faces in the St. Andrews dressing room with former West Ham players Jonathan Spector, Papa Bouba Diop and Hayden Mullins all currently plying their trade in the West Midlands. Hall could make his debut in Saturday's npower Championship fixture at Derby County.
Turgott is another who has made giant strides this season and featured in the club's first-team pre-season tour of Germany. His move will see him link up fellow Academy graduates Kyel Reid and Zavon Hines, who both left West Ham in the past few years.
Some eye-catching displays for the West Ham Development Squad have earned Turgott international honours at England Under-19 level, where he scored his first goal against Estonia in September. Turgott could make his debut in the npower League Two fixture against Bristol Rovers on Saturday.
Potts will also look to build on a solid start to the season as he moves to Colchester. The 18-year-old left-sided defender has made two first-team Capital One Cup appearances in 2012/13 and impressed during his four npower Championship outings last season. The move will allow Potts to team up with popular Academy graduate Freddie Sears, who left the club in the summer to move to Essex.
McCallum has enjoyed a prolific season for the Development Squad, finding the net six times in eleven games. He will link up with Academy graduate Callum McNaughton in south-west London and the pair could feature when the Dons travel to Morecambe on Saturday.
Hall's loan provisionally runs until 12 January, McCallum's and Potts' until 22 December and Turgott's will expire on 5 January.
