West Ham United: ExWHUemployee says Steve Potts or Kevin Keen could become academy director

ExWHUemployee has claimed that coaches Steve Potts and Kevin Keen could be handed the academy director role at West Ham United.

Having finally found a bit of form nine games into their Premier League season after winning their past two games, the Hammers’ senior setup is understandably the main focus for fans right now.

However, the club’s academy is always one area to keep an eye on, and it seems as though there could be some big chances on the way at that level. Indeed, while speaking recently on The West Ham Way podcast, Ex revealed that current director Ricky Martin seems set to join Stoke City.

If that happens, the club will obviously need to fill the vacancy, and coaches Potts and Keen have both been tipped as options if West Ham look to promote from within.

Ex explained the situation, saying: “Interestingly, Ricky Martin, the academy director, is likely to leave the company – he’s likely to go to Stoke to become technical director to work with Alex Neil, who’s the manager there now.

“They worked together at Norwich City in similar roles to what they both are now. It seems that Alex Neil is on the brink of persuading Ricky Martin to leave the academy and head back into a more sort of first-team role, which will be really interesting because it leaves a vacancy at West Ham.

“Who would get that role at West Ham is unclear at the moment, so it’d be interesting to see, but I’m sure they’ve got someone lined up.