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Youth Players kept in first team training as West Ham plan for season

By Scott Johnson

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 26: Fiacre Kelleher of Macclesfield Town tackles Grady Diangana of West Ham United during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between West Ham United and Macclesfield Town at The London Stadium on September 26, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 26: Fiacre Kelleher of Macclesfield Town tackles Grady Diangana of West Ham United during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between West Ham United and Macclesfield Town at The London Stadium on September 26, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images) /
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We’ve talked about Pellegrini’s new focus on the U23 players, and it seems to have taken its next step. Despite the youth team struggling with injuries, three West Ham youngsters were kept with the first team squad.

After three players made their debuts in the West Ham rout of Macclesfield, we wrote about how Pellegrini is moving the club forward with his ideology of keeping the youth team close. Now, despite Holland and Silva not being available due to injury, he’s kept those three with the first team. This is no longer short termism, but planning for the future.

Under Bilic and Moyes, and at the start of this season, many were worrying about the squad week to week. Who would play? Where will the quality come from? After a few wins and with a solid youth policy, there seems to be a sense of calm and hope. With the team succeeding, could we see youth players being introduced in the Premier League?

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We saw Diangana given his league debut, albeit very brief, against Manchester United this weekend. Whilst it won’t be one that the history books remember, the player will. He can use the confidence from simply being on the bench in a big match to keep on pushing. Plus there may be slightly fewer nerves next time he has to run out onto the pitch.

Whilst we can’t be completely sure that these players will be in the squad for the Brighton match, we have to assume there’s an important reason they missed the U23 match with Everton. The U23’s have been struggling so far this season, and are now missing those three alongside Silva and Holland. To stop three youngsters playing in matches for no reason would be a bit strange.

I don’t expect we will see any of them start on Friday evening, but I do think we’ll see some start to feature on the bench. With Sanchez out for the long term, and Wilshere still recovering, Coventry could be a decent alternative. Diangana showed his eye for goal in the League Cup, so could he be introduced to stretch a team from a winning position? Or even to give one of Yarmolenko or Anderson a rest towards the end of the match?

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