Premier League

Brady: Some top Irons coming through

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Image for Brady: Some top Irons coming through

Karren Brady has claimed a number of academy stars are set to break into the West Ham senior squad.

The Hammers vice-chairman revealed in her weekly Sun column that there are a few home-grown stars “in the pipeline” at the club who are set to follow Declan Rice into the first-team set-up.

Brady explained the club spend £4million a year on their academy and admitted it is not currently as fruitful as it can be.

“Clubs, desperate to engage the best of talent both here and across the world, have academies that cost millions and staffs responsible for education, health and welfare besides coaching,” Brady wrote in her Sun column.

“At West Ham, we spend about £4million a season on what is known as the Academy of Football because of the numbers of stars it has produced.

“Today, such is the competition, the numbers are not as high. We have one home-nurtured player who has broken through, Declan Rice, but there are a number in the pipeline.

“No Premier League club that I know of has a profit motive behind running an academy.”

OPINION

West Ham have a long and glorious tradition of producing players not only for their own first team, but also for the national side. The club of Hurst, Moore and Peters has provided generations of superstars from within, including current first-team captain Mark Noble and the hugely impressive 19-year-old Declan Rice. As Brady admits, the academy has not been as prolific in recent years as the club would like. Like most others in the Premier League, West Ham spend big money on it and it does not always bear fruit. Others might point out that the club made a fortune from the sale of Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Jermain Defoe and Joe Cole a generation ago, and there is no reason why a similar production line of talent cannot be assembled. If only it were that easy. What is crucial is a pathway from the youth to senior side, and a set-up that is willing to give the stars of tomorrow the chance to flourish. Like Rice has been.

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