West Ham United have some truly unbelievable young talents coming through our famed academy right now.
‘The Academy of Football‘ was a moniker given to West Ham initially by the British press, after we produced the likes of Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and Sir Geoff Hurst in the 60’s.
More recently, the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, Mark Noble and Declan Rice have all come through the Hammers academy.
There is nothing the West Ham fans love more than seeing talented youngsters who we can call one of our own come through the ranks.
David Moyes has numerous teenagers currently starring for the under-21s, and the future looks very bright indeed for the club.
Even below the under-21s, we have an exciting crop of under-18s as well, including the likes of Dan Rigge who has been in sensational form this season and Josh Briggs, who recently signed his first professional contract with the club.
However, there is one standout player amongst our ranks. Bizarrely though, we haven’t seen him play for the senior team in 16 months…
Why haven’t we seen West Ham academy starlet in 17 months
The Hammers genuinely could be saved from spending tens of millions in the transfer market over the next few years, such is the sheer volume of quality young players we have coming through right now.
There is one player in particular who just seems to be tailor made to go on and become a huge success in the Premier League with West Ham.
Ollie Scarles is arguably the most talented player we have in the academy right now, and that’s what makes his absence from the senior setup really strange.
He played one game under Moyes – way back in November 2022 when he was just 16, away at FCSB in the Europa Conference League group stage.
Scarles really impressed during that game, and he definitely didn’t allow the situation to get the better of him.
The 18-year-old is a really special young player, and the teenage left-back, who can also play in central midfield, signed a new deal in December 2022
After putting pen to paper on that contract, he admitted that he has already far exceeded his own expectations at the club.
However, he surely would have expected more senior action over the past 17 months, even if he was given the odd game in the Carabao Cup or a late cameo FA Cup appearance from the bench.
I really hope that Scarles’ development is not being stunted by his lack of action against senior professionals.
The West Ham academy of football name came about because managers trusted the young players to show what they can do.
Now it’s up to Moyes to provide Scarles with the platform he needs to really express himself. The fact we haven’t seen him at all for the senior team since November 2022 is really bizarre if you ask me.
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