 Paynter allowed "his player" to stay at the club on the proviso that Tucker would sign professional forms with West Ham as soon as the season was over.After his Hammers debut, Tucker played only 14 games for the first team in the following four years, but he played well in the reserve team, scoring 73 goals in 191 games.He finally became a first-team regular during the 1955–56 season, and was called into the England squad for a game against Brazil although he didn't play.