Callum Marshall and George Earthy were both on the scoresheet for their respective clubs midweek.

The pair, who were part of West Ham’s FA Youth Cup-winning side of 2023, were recently sold by the Irons to Luton Town and Reading respectively.

The moves caused some minor disappointment among Hammers fans, myself included. As someone who has watched the careers of both players grow from a young age, it was a shame to see both depart the club this summer.

However, as is often the case with academy players, Marshall and Earthy clearly weren’t in the manager’s plans for the future, despite the Irons’ recent relegation to the Championship.

But on the bright side, the pair should now enjoy plenty of game time with their new sides in League One. Both players played in the league on Wednesday night, and both of them even scored.

Earthy’s Reading crushed Mansfield 5-0, as the former Hammers man scored his first goal for the Royals from close range. Meanwhile, Luton defeated Stockport County 2-0, with Marshall scoring an outrageous goal from outside the box.

Interestingly, Marshall is accompanied in that Luton side by fellow former Hammers Harrison Ashby and Gideon Kodua, the latter of whom captained that FA Youth Cup side to glory three years ago.

Ashby was part of the starting XI that lost 1-0 to Dinamo Zagreb in the 2021/22 Europa League group stage, as part of a full-academy back four. Also part of that backline were Emmanuel Longelo, now at Motherwell, Jamal Baptiste, who now plays for Sheffield United (ugh), and Ajibola Alese, who is yet to play a Premier League game for Sunderland.

It has been interesting to see how the players from that Youth Cup final have developed since the game. Earthy, Marshall and Kodua, who all scored in that final, have moved on, as have Divin Mubama and Patrick Kelly.

Ollie Scarles and Lewis Orford are now prominent members of the first-team squad, and Kaelan Casey has been loaned out to Stevenage for the season.

Interestingly, an unused substitute from that game was a 16-year-old by the name of Divine Mukasa. The now 19-year-old Manchester City loanee recently scored a brace for the Irons’ first team in a huge league victory against Wolves.

As for Earthy and Marshall, hopefully, more goals will follow. Given their ability, they certainly have the potential to become two of the best players in England’s third tier.