A 17-year-old academy player could take the step up to the West Ham first team following a dramatic deadline day.

The last 24 hours have been interesting to say the least. As usual with West Ham, nothing is ever simple as both Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals’ moves away from East London looked to be stopped due to the club failing to submit the right documents. 

Some speculated that this was done on purpose because they failed to sign a replacement. Even though there is no evidence of this, Football Fancast do not believe that they necessarily needed to bring anyone in anyway and that the answer to their problems was already at the club.

Daniel Rigge is a 17-year-old attacker from the Academy of Football who has impressed since joining the Hammers in 2022. He is a key player for the U18s, having 10 goal involvements in 10 league games. His impressive form has led to him already making his Premier League 2 debut where he actually managed to score.

Versatility is one of his biggest strengths, primarily he plays as an attacking midfielder but he can also play on both wings. Last season, he played an instrumental part in the U18s winning their league as well as the FA Youth Cup. 

While there are many players who could go on to have excellent careers in the Hammers’ youth set up, Rigge is arguably one of the more underrated ones. He had a great start to life in claret and blue, but has taken things up to the next level this term.

Whether or not he is ready to take that step up to the Premier League remains to be seen, but there is no doubt about the potential this kid has. He has plenty of time to continue developing and the club must not rush him into the first team if he is not ready. However, the fact it is even a conversation at such a young age just goes to show how good he could really go on to be.