OPINION
After what was a bitterly disappointing start to the season things have begun to look up for the West Ham fans following the international break – and they should begin to get excited about next week.
The Hammers finally broke their duck with a 3-1 win away at Everton on Sunday to lift them off the foot of the table and get some points on the board, in what may have been deemed to be a challenging tie.
Things are not about to get easier though with a clash against Chelsea, and the London Stadium faithful would surely excuse their side if they put in a half decent performance but came away suffering defeat to the Blues, who have looked rampant at times this season.
What the West Ham fans would not look kindly upon is if they were subject to a shock defeat against Macclesfield next Wednesday, with a League Cup clash against the League Two side on the cards, once again at home.
Manuel Pellegrini will not be using his full strength side against the north west outfit, which will mean a youngster or two coming in from the fringes to try and help the first team reach the next stage of the competition.
Now, as reported by Football.London, the Chilean boss and his coaches has been keeping a very close eye on the development of 21-year-old summer signing Xande Silva after his dazzling displays for the under-23 side, which has seen him net five goals in as many matches so far.
The plan seems to be to plot a route which gets him game time sooner rather than later, and as such, he is almost a shoo-in to be promoted to the senior side for the first team against Macclesfield next week.
Bought for a reported £1.8million, Silva looks to be one of the most exciting talents not in the first team already, but that looks set to change, potentially as soon as next week.