West Ham United insider @ExWHUemployee has been discussing the academy prospects which may feature for the Hammers next season.
During pre-season so far, the Irons have played two matches, a 4-1 victory over Ipswich Town and a 5-1 victory over Wycombe Wanderers.
In both pre-season outings which took place on the same day, the Hammers had several academy prospects feature (per Evening Standard).
So, in the latest episode of The West Ham Way Podcast, @ExWHUemployee discussed the Irons’ academy graduates and aired who he thought may feature for the club in the upcoming season.
He said: “There’s a lot of good prospects [in] the academy. Now, I don’t want to sound like I’m saying this to back the board’s tightness because I’m not at all because I’m infuriated by the fact that we have no money.
“I don’t understand why we have no money. However, if I take those feelings out of it and I look at the strength of the academy, there is a strong argument that we don’t necessarily have to sign that many players.
“I’m not saying I believe that, but you think [Grady] Diangana is going to be a really useful wing addition – so, in theory, do we need [Eberechi] Eze or [Said Benrahma]?
“You could argue that [Conor] Coventry replaces [Carlos] Sanchez. You could argue that [Jamal] Baptiste or [Aji] Alese are decent centre-back options. You’ve got [Ben] Johnson at right-back.
“The only position really, for me, is forward and left-back because I think Baptiste is really, really highly rated. I mean there’s a few players in that squad that didn’t even feature.”
TIF Thoughts…
As can be seen in what the club insider had to say, he suggested that it may not matter if the Hammers do not recruit players in certain areas as they can promote academy players.
Would you like to see several academy players given a first-team opportunity next season?
Yes, that would be good
No, we need more quality
Following Johnson’s impressive step up to the first team in the most recent season where he earned a 6.76/10 average rating over three Premier League appearances (per WhoScored), it is perhaps clear to see where @ExWHUemployee’s suggestion comes from.
The Hammers’ U23s finished the 2019/20 season at the top of the Premier League 2 Division 2 table without losing a single game, beating the likes of Manchester United’s U23s to that position, so perhaps that provides an exciting indication of the talent that West Ham have got within their youth academy at present.
Hopefully, over the coming season, David Moyes can utilise more of the young talent that he seemingly has at his disposal.