West Ham's preseason star gets international call-up
By Rahul Das
At the beginning of West Ham's preseason in July, the Hammers trained without several key players who were involved in the UEFA Euro 2024 as well as the Copa America 2024. Further, new manager Julen Lopetegui promised to give playing time to every player in the available squad, which meant that a few young talents will get opportunities to showcase their high potential for the first team before the start of the new season. While promising talents such as Lewis Orford, Freddie Potts and George Earthy were decent, 24-year-old Andy Irving stood out for the Hammers with his impressive displays against Ferencvaros and Dagenham.
Irving gave a last-minute assist on Nayef Aguerd's 2-2 equaliser against Ferencvaros and followed his good form by scoring a brilliant goal from outside the edge of the box in a 1-0 win over Dagenham. His performances didn't go unnoticed and he was rewarded with more playing time in the Sunshine State Tour friendlies against Wolves and Crystal Palace. Although the Hammers already had star midfielders such as Edson Alvarez and Tomas Soucek as well as signed Guido Rodriguez and Carlos Soler, West Ham decided to keep the box-to-box midfielder in their first team squad for this season.
West Ham's preseason star gets international call-up
Recently, Irving made his Premier League debut for West Ham, coming as a second half substitute in a 3-0 defeat at home against Chelsea. Now, Irving is set to feature in the UEFA Nations League as well, with the Scotland national team naming the 24-year-old West Ham midfielder in their squad for the upcoming international break. This is a huge achievement for Irving, who was signed by the Hammers last season and played the 2023/24 season on loan at his former club SK Klagenfurt.
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Moreover, with West Ham's recent struggles in midfield as well as attack, manager Julen Lopetegui can give more playing time to Irving who has looked decent in his first two Premier League appearances. Moreover, Edson Alvarez and Guido Rodriguez have struggled with pace in the recent few games, thus, Irving can be started in a double pivot role for West Ham alongside Tomas Soucek to provide more defensive solidity to the Hammers defence.
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