West Ham fringe players Reece Burke and Josh Cullen are both expected to start in Sunday’s FA Cup clash with Shrewsbury, according to a club insider.
ExWHUemployee, who is an established source for exclusive insider Hammers information on Twitter, claims in an article on The West Ham Way that Burke is to start at right-back and Cullen will line up in midfield.
Both players have spent the first part of the season on loan at Bolton Wanderers, where they have been in impressive form, but they have returned to the club in recent days.
If both players do start, it will have far-reaching consequences for the rest of the season.
FIFA rules stipulate that a player can be registered with three clubs in one season, but can only turn out in competitive games for two sides.
With both youngsters having played for Bolton already this term, their starts for the Hammers would mean that they are left with just two options for the remainder of the campaign.
Either they both return to Bolton, which is the expected move, or they remain at West Ham, handing David Moyes a big dilemma.
ExWHUemployee claims that several sides have shown interest in signing Burke for the rest of the season, including Ipswich, Nottingham Forest and Sunderland.
OPINION
This is an interesting move by Moyes, who must realise what starting both players will mean for their seasons. At this moment it was always expected that both would return to Bolton, who are desperate to retain their services. Soon, that may become the only option. However, a stand-out display from either player could see them retained at West Ham, although that would probably involve a lot of time spent on the bench, which would not be beneficial for either party.