West Ham best youngsters: Aaron Cresswell replacement, lethal finisher and Mark Noble favourite

The next crop of Hammers talent looks impressive, but will they get their chances under David Moyes?
Malik Ouzia @MalikOuzia_16 November 2023

There is genuine excitement at Chadwell Heath about the latest crop of West Ham youngsters, after the club won the FA Youth Cup last season for the first time since the famous 1999 side that included the likes of Michael Carrick and Joe Cole.

There is concern, too, though, over their pathway into the first team.

A number of talented youngsters have walked away from the club before making breakthroughs in recent years, while the latest to try, teenage striker Divin Mubama, is currently refusing to sign a new contract having gone unused in the Premier League so far this term.

Here, Standard Sport assesses the young West Ham stars for whom there are high hopes.

Ollie Scarles

Defender, 17

Made headlines when making his first-team debut while still aged just 16 during last November’s Europa League meeting with FCSB and was rewarded with his first professional contract the following month.

Scarles has been a regular for an Under-21 side going well in the Premier League 2 this season and having developed as a versatile midfielder, there are increasing signs that his future may lie at left-back.

Emerson has been exceptional in that position for David Moyes’s first team this season, but Aaron Cresswell turns 34 next month and the fact that the club did not reinforce the position this summer will give Scarles hope of opportunity down the line.

West Ham have some incredibly talented youngsters - but is there a pathway through to the first team?
Getty Images

Callum Marshall

Forward, 18

Left his native Northern Ireland to join West Ham last year and is another who played a key part in the Youth Cup triumph, scoring in the 5-1 final win over Arsenal.

Physically mature beyond his years, Marshall has made light work of U21 football this term - hammering 14 goals in just nine appearances so far.

Though he is yet to make a first-team debut at club level (he was on the bench for the Carabao Cup win at Lincoln in September), he is already a full international, handed his Northern Ireland bow back in June and included in this month’s squad for upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers against Finland and Denmark.

George Earthy

Midfielder, 18

It says plenty about the regard in which he is held that he was handed a new three-year contract in September as West Ham look to avert the kind of scenario currently playing out with Mubama.

Earthy was raised a West Ham fan and was a season-ticket holder at Upton Park before the club left the old ground. The technically-gifted midfielder has been name-checked as a leading talent on more than one occasion by sporting director Mark Noble, who spends much of his time at Chadwell Heath.

Has four goals and two assists in 10 matches for the U21s so far this term, including strikes away to League One sides Bristol Rovers and Cheltenham Town in the EFL Cup.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in