The EFL Championship: oh, you gloriously frustrating, unpredictable thing. It’s a proposition that feels not so peachy for Hammers given recent successes, nor should it be. But amidst the disappointment, there is opportunity for rejuvenation, for West Ham to rejig the sinews and roots that have left it anchored to unsavory ground.
In particular, it's an opportunity to let The Academy of Football shine. Although this generation of young Irons may not be (at least on the surface) a “golden generation,” there are still several promising names that could each easily make their mark in the Championship this year. We’ve seen it happen before: contemporary stars like João Pedro (Watford), Iliman Ndiaye (Sheffield United), and Crysencio Summerville (Leeds) all broke out as playtime increased in the immediate wake of their respective clubs’ relegations. Who could that be for West Ham this year? Here is where the Hammers’ most promising academy (and non-academy) youngsters stand on the precipice of 2026-27.
First-Team Certs:
Three young players among West Ham’s ranks will almost certainly feature significantly this upcoming season. There is, of course, Ollie Scarles; although his game time tailed off this past spring, the 20-year-old fullback (who can also deputize in the center of defense) is as exciting a prospect as West Ham have. He didn’t look at all out of place during the winter months, when El Hadji Malick Diouf’s unavailability due to the AFCON left Scarles as the starter on the left side of Nuno’s backline. A robust 1v1 defender who put up enormous ball recovery numbers on the stats sheet, Scarles is also an underrated crosser of the ball. If Diouf jumps ship this summer, the Irons have their ready-made replacement.
Although lacking in similarly exciting potential, 22-year-old central midfielder Freddie Potts is still of undeniable first-team quality. He’s a steady all-rounder in the middle of the pitch, who makes up for a lack of overwhelming strengths with a complementary lack of glaring weaknesses. Tried and tested at the Championship level, he should prove to be an able backup for the season to come.
It has been previously reported that several clubs in Ligue 1 have been subtly circling around Mohamadou Kanté; while his potential sale could be financially justified, it would still be a shame considering the player’s evident talent. In a string of incredibly brief cameos in the Premier League last year, Kanté intrigued as a box-crasher and space disruptor who was clearly up to the physical environment surrounding him. In the Championship, his unique skillset would be a perfectly acceptable squad supplement at worst, and an absolute boon at best. I hope he’s kept around.
On The Verge:
For a few guys, 2026-27 could really go either way. A lot is dependent upon how much money West Ham have to play around with in the transfer window. Callum Marshall is definitely an interesting case. He spent the second half of last season on loan at second-level Bundesliga club Bochum, where he was unremarkable but was also somewhat misused; Marshall, who is most effective driving in off the wing as an inverted attacker, spent a lot of the spring playing as an undersized center-forward or second striker. I still think it would be worth keeping him around as a backup on the flanks; his underlying shot numbers were still fairly good in Germany, albeit on a low volume, and his pace could prove valuable late in games.
George Earthy, meanwhile, still feels like someone who is figuring out his identity as a footballer. He has a fascinating skillset, possessing a good defensive work rate and the ability to effectively link play in the half-spaces. But while he is clearly too good for U21 football, he also flattered to deceive at Bristol City in the spring of 2026. You could make the argument for him being used as an ancillary roster piece this upcoming season, but I think another loan may be a better option.
The jury is still out on Lewis Orford and Kaelan Casey. The former, who absolutely tore it up for the U21’s last season, could certainly be called upon this upcoming season, but the club should still consider loaning him out to gain more experience. While he can be a metronomic passer on his day, Orford’s disappointing loan spell in League One with Stevenage last year lingers in the mind; I would like to see him strutting his stuff with more confidence elsewhere before he is phased into the first team. Casey is a little bit closer; he struggled to get into the Swansea team on loan in the first half of 2025-26, but he was actually pretty good once he was on the pitch; his minutes for Leyton Orient in the spring were also solid. He suffers a bit from a relative lack of physicality, but, like Callum Marshall, he should be able to serve as squad depth at the very least in this iteration of the Hammers.
Finally, one of the most underrated youth players is 19-year-old Preston Fearon who was utter dynamite for the U21s last year, netting seven goals as an attack-minded midfielder in the Premier League 2. A talented chance creator and adept ball retainer around the edge of the box, he possesses tools that are hard to come by in the rest of the first-team squad. Fearon is a talent whose ceiling among other academy graduates on the books is matched perhaps only by Ollie Scarles.
Not Quite Ready:
While they are both still very young, center-backs Ezra Mayers and Airidas Golambeckis are not quite at the physical level necessary yet to compete in the English second tier. Of course, they still have time to develop, but sensible loans (or, in Golambeckis’s case, more consistent playing time for the U21s) are necessary right now. Striker Daniel Cummings is also a bit of a project. While his form picked up for the U21s in the spring, a playing time-heavy stint in the third or fourth tier would be the best path forward. Regan Clayton’s form in the Premier League 2 also probably justifies a loan; while time is not entirely on his side (he turns 22 in November), it’s worth staying patient for now with a versatile player who could still develop into a competent backup.
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