West Ham threw away a two-goal lead on their return to the Championship as Burnley came from behind to secure a late draw at Turf Moor. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side looked set for an impressive opening weekend victory away to their promotion rivals, only for Zian Flemming to score twice in the final 10 minutes to snatch an unlikely point.
Academy Graduates Make Their Mark
It was a frustrating start to life back in the second tier for West Ham and a reminder that promotion back to the Premier League will be no easy feat. However, Nuno will also be keen to take the positives from a performance in which his side dominated for large spells and capitalised in the final third. There were also full league debuts for academy graduate Lewis Orford and 20-year-old midfielder Mohamadou Kante, with neither player looking out of place.
West Ham’s relegation and relative lack of transfer activity has provided opportunities for the club’s younger players, and Nuno seems prepared to reward them with valuable senior minutes this season. The Hammers are still finalising their squad for the new campaign, but the likes of Orford and Kante have already made a case for further first-team involvement. They are not the only academy players who will see this season as an opportunity, though, and Standard Sport has assessed three more who could break through this term.
Ezra Mayers: A Versatile Defensive Option
Named on the bench against Burnley, Ezra Mayers is considered one of the club’s brightest talents and was crowned Young Hammer of the Year last season after making 10 senior appearances. The versatile defender, who can play at centre-back and left-back, brings speed and physicality and will hope to build on the faith shown in him last term. Mayers is well equipped to handle the step up following his exposure to senior football last year, and the 19-year-old could prove a useful option for Nuno in what is set to be an arduous campaign.
A multiple award winner at academy level, West Ham clearly have belief in Mayers, and the drop down to the Championship feels like the perfect opportunity to establish him as a more regular member of the first team.
Ollie Scarles and Airidas Golambeckis
Despite conceding the penalty that allowed Burnley back into the game on Sunday, Ollie Scarles appears to have earmarked himself as an important part of Nuno’s plans this season. The left-back has started each of West Ham’s first two games, capitalising on El Hadji Malick Diouf’s extended leave following the World Cup. While there has been talk about Diouf’s future, with Brentford interested earlier in the summer, the Senegalese international does now appear set to stay in east London. That means Scarles will likely drop out of the team, but it does not rule him out of playing a squad role, with Nuno sure to rotate his side over the course of the season.
West Ham’s priorities in the final weeks of the transfer window are in attack, with Nuno appearing to have settled on his defensive options. Scarles, therefore, is considered likely to stay and compete for minutes rather than head out on loan.
Another defender who looks set to be given an opportunity by West Ham is 18-year-old centre-back Airidas Golambeckis. Handed meaningful minutes across pre-season, the England youth international is in line to make his senior debut after being promoted to the first team by Nuno last term. Comfortable with the ball at his feet, Golambeckis can also play in midfield and is part of a select number of West Ham academy players to have captained the development squad before turning 18. With Max Kilman, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Joel Veltman all ahead of him in the pecking order, Golambeckis won’t expect to start weekly. But having impressed during his short stint training with the first team, there is definitely scope for him to rotate in and out of the side as West Ham juggle a 46-game league season.
