West Ham fans were left heartbroken on Tuesday as defender Reece Burke announced his departure from the club.
Burke, who came through the Hammers' youth setup, has signed for Hull City on a three-year deal for a fee of £1.5m.
The move has disappointed scores of West Ham supporters, who held the defender in high regard and would have loved to have seen the 21-year-old break into the first team at the London Stadium.
To @WestHamUtd ...I achieved my dream of playing in the Premier League for my boyhood club and scoring a winner in front of the home fans, that is a moment I will never ever forget. But I feel right now is the time I need to move on as a player to further my career. pic.twitter.com/h9NZydsDVE
— Reece Burke (@ReeceBurke) July 10, 2018
Fans also responded well to Burke's goodbye message to fans, which he posted on Twitter on Tuesday to a warm and loving reception from the Hammers faithful.
Wish you the best Reece! Know that the fans here appreciate everything you gave to the club and all your work and effort was not unappreciated. Hope you have a great season at Hull! ⚒
— West Ham Yank (@TheWestHamYank) July 10, 2018
All the best mate. ⚽️❤️
— Filipe Morais (@moraisfilipe20) July 10, 2018
All the very best Reece! Go do what you do best m8
— Paul konchesky (@konch3) July 10, 2018
Every one of us fans understand why yu have to make the move Reece, from the bottom of our hearts we wish you nothing but good times and good fortunes buddy, you deserve it, and million per cent you'll always be welcome at London Stadium (nearly said Upton park then) ⚒️⚒️⚒️
— Chris Harris (@FumingHammer3) July 10, 2018
Gutted you're going. Thank you for everything you've done. I hope the @HullCity fans know what a star they're getting
— Ruthless Exterior (@geezamick) July 10, 2018
I wish you nothing but success at @HullCity - sad that you didn’t get another opportunity next season. Always part of the @WestHamUtd family!
— Katie (@flump9) July 10, 2018
Burke signed his first professional contract with West Ham in 2014 and made five appearances in the Premier League during the 2014/15 season while just 18 years old.
However, this was not enough to earn the defender a place in the side and Burke soon found himself being sent out on loan to Bradford City, Wigan Athletic and finally Bolton Wanderers last season.
Though the centre-back performed well on loan, he was unable to work his way back into the setup at West Ham and his eventual move away became something of an inevitability, with his last appearance for the club coming more than three years ago.