West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini is set to hand his young guns a chance to shine in the club’s League Cup clash against Tottenham on Wednesday as no less than four young talents are named as set to feature, according to the Sun.
The newspaper claim on their website that 19-year-old Declan Rice, who has established himself as a first team mainstay with his midfield performances this season, will be joined by fellow teenager Conor Coventry and 20-year-old pair Grady Diangana and Joe Powell in making the step up to the senior side as the Hammers look to sink their London rivals.
The quartet have all featured in the competition at earlier stages, while Rice and Diangana both played in their Premier League match against Leicester City over the weekend.
Opinion
The League Cup is a chance for top flight managers to bed their youngsters and fringe figures into the first team and it seems as though Pellegrini is taking full advantage of the chance he has been handed – even if Tottenham are fierce competition. Does this mean the Hammers are not placing any sort of priority on the competition? That would be a fair assumption, and understandable considering the situation the club find themselves in. Yes, they might be looking safe and sound in the Premier League for now but that could all change in the blink of an eye, and having your first team stars worn down with a tough cup tie could leave them vulnerable for their next outing. As such, it makes perfect sense to hand those young talents the chance to prove themselves in the team while giving the more experienced heads a night off. You can be certain that Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino will be doing the same in the other dugout, and as such spectators would be excused for thinking they had turned up to a reserve game on Wednesday.