Claret And Blue To Amber

West Ham’s Billy Bates signs on at Cheshunt

Billy Bates, a West Ham United defender, has joined Cheshunt on loan.

Billy was a young football player for Norwich City and Leyton Orient until relocating to West Ham in the fall of 2020. Billy signed his first professional contract with the Hammers in May and has since established himself as a mainstay of the Under 18 and Under 21 teams despite suffering some significant injuries, including an ACL that kept him out of action for the whole 21–22 season.

He played youth league football for the Ambers before joining Orient, so he is not new to Cheshunt. He is definitely returning home because he was born there as well!

In yesterday night’s Velocity Cup penalty shootout loss against Billericay Town, he made his Ambers debut.