By Conor Hogan

Nuno Espírito Santo has a decision to make when it comes to selecting his substitutes’ bench for Sunday’s game against Aston Villa.

In recent matches, Nuno’s bench selections have varied noticeably in age. Against Manchester United at Old Trafford, he named several youngsters – George Earthy, Callum Marshall and Mohamadou Kanté – with Kanté even making his Premier League debut in a brief cameo.

By contrast, last weekend at Brighton the bench was far more experienced. Although Ezra Mayers was included and made his debut, the other academy prospects were absent from the squad.

With high-flying Aston Villa visiting on Sunday, it will be interesting to see which direction Nuno takes. 

Earthy, Mayers, Marshall and Kanté all started the young Irons’ 1-0 win over Colchester on Tuesday, with Earthy scoring the winner to send West Ham into the EFL Trophy round of 16.

That midweek involvement, however, makes their chances of featuring on Sunday slim. Instead, Tomáš Souček, Soungoutou Magassa and Niclas Füllkrug are more likely options from the bench. 

While that’s no bad thing – in the cases of Souček and Magassa at least – fans who have seen flashes from the youngsters are naturally keen for more.

One of the season’s biggest positives has been the first-team integration of academy graduate Freddie Potts. The 22-year-old has become a regular under Nuno and is among West Ham’s most consistent performers. 

While Earthy and Kanté still have time to develop, supporters would welcome further first-team minutes.

One academy player who should feature is Ollie Scarles, who returned to first-team training this week after six weeks out with a collarbone injury. 

With El Hadji Malick Diouf and Aaron Wan-Bissaka departing for AFCON, Scarles could be an important squad option and would benefit from a short run-out to rebuild fitness.

Whatever Nuno decides, West Ham’s academy is clearly in a strong place. Even with an extremely thin senior squad, it’s been encouraging to see young players involved both on the bench and on the pitch – and long may it continue.