West Ham United youngster Ademipo Odubeko has come in for some significant praise from former Hammer Marlon Harewood.
The 18-year-old has put up some great numbers for the club’s academy side, and recently made his first-team debut coming off the bench in their FA Cup Third Round victory over Stockport County.
And whilst he’s only just made inroads on the side, speaking exclusively to This Is Futbol, Harewood says that he could have a say on how things shape up at the London Stadium in the near future.
He said: “I’ve just heard that they obviously had a player coming through, and he’s doing really well for the Under-23s and the younger boys, but it’s good to hear players like that coming through and to prove himself. If you’ve got a player that can do the stuff, then you might not need to go and spend 20-30 million when you’ve got a player there that you can nourish and try and get him into the team.”
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Harewood might perhaps be getting a little ahead of himself when it comes to someone who is still only 18 years old.
Recent reports have suggested that West Ham are looking to spend big money this window to replace the departed Sebastien Haller, but Harewood seems to be implying that players like Odubeko should be getting a look in as well. It’s a noble view to hold, it’s always nice to see young talent develop at a club, and might go some way to smooth things over following the anger caused by the sale of another homegrown talent in Grady Diangana last summer.
And if West Ham were in a season where they aren’t competing for anything, either at the top or the bottom of the table, then it might be worth giving him some minutes to aide his development. But with David Moyes’ men knocking on the door for a European spot, it might be more important to focus on what is happening now rather than the future.
Because at 18, there’s still plenty of time for them to work something out.