By Conor Hogan

It has been a strange and testing month for West Ham full-back Ollie Scarles.

The 20-year-old was thrust into the starting eleven to deputise for El Hadji Malick Diouf during his AFCON absence, starting West Ham’s last five matches as Nuno Espírito Santo’s side collected just one point from a possible fifteen.

Scarles quickly found himself under scrutiny. On his first start in over two months, he was badly exposed against Manchester City, struggling to cope with the brilliance of Rayan Cherki before coming off injured in the second half. It was a harsh reintroduction to Premier League football.

Somewhat surprisingly, Nuno kept faith with the academy graduate against Fulham. Scarles responded with a largely solid performance, but his night — and the match — was defined by one fatal moment: a late miskick inside the box that led directly to Marco Silva’s side snatching a 1-0 win.

The sight of Scarles in tears as he approached the West Ham fans at full-time was painful. A popular academy product, visibly low on confidence, enduring the lowest moment of his young career.

Many supporters were sympathetic. Scarles was visibly tiring late on, and Nuno’s failure to replace him with Ezra Mayers — who had impressed briefly against City — drew criticism. The manager, not the youngster, shouldered much of the blame.

To Scarles’ credit, he responded impressively. Retained in the side against Brighton, he produced an excellent performance, even coming close to scoring his first senior goal. It was a heartening turnaround as West Ham drew 2-2 in a frustrating but improved display.

And despite heavy defeats to Wolves and Nottingham Forest, Scarles was among the more reliable performers in both matches, showing growing confidence and resilience in a team largely devoid of it.

Now, however, his future in the team is uncertain.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka has returned from AFCON and will almost certainly go straight back into the starting XI, likely opposite Kyle Walker-Peters. With Diouf also set to return later this month, opportunities for Scarles look increasingly limited.

The youngster has clearly benefited from his recent run of games, but in the midst of a relegation fight, it’s difficult to imagine Nuno taking further risks when more experienced options are available.

A Championship loan would likely be ideal for Scarles’ development — especially if relegation becomes a reality — but West Ham’s squad is so threadbare that losing another first-team option without replacement feels unlikely.

As a result, after a brief but valuable taste of regular Premier League football, Scarles may find himself back with the youth side until May. They are a strong team, no doubt — but it’s a step back that he may have hoped he’d already taken for good.