West Ham’s unused wonder-kid has proved in training that he’s ready for first team football.
It can’t be overstated how important it is not to overhype youth players, especially when they’ve had next to no first-team experience. However, sometimes it’s clear that they’re the real deal, and it’s infuriating when they’re not being given the opportunity to fulfil their potential.
While that is certainly the case for quite a few of West Ham’s youngsters, one who definitely deserves a chance is Ollie Scarles.
The 18-year-old is a versatile young man, who thrives at left-back in particular. Despite missing a large chunk of last season due to a back injury, he’s fortunately come back with no issues.
Ever since he made his debut for the club under David Moyes in Europe, he’s been in and around the first team, with the consistency of this said to have increased substantially by reports.
Not only is he taking part in first team training, but videos from the club have shown that he is competing excellently with the senior players. Although it’s only training, hopefully it’s a sign of things to come. As mentioned, he deserves a chance and hopefully Lopetegui provides him with it sooner rather than later.