The drop into the Championship has been something of a blessing in disguise for West Ham’s former academy players. Kept largely on the fringes whilst the Irons were in the top tier, financial necessity and lack of squad depth could well be the making of half a dozen young hopefuls who now find their horizons expanding at London Stadium.
Fin Herrick, Lewis Orford, Mo Kante, Airidas Golambeckis, Ezra Mayers and Josh Ajala are all names now seen regularly in the match day squad sheet.
To go that bit further and make it on the pitch will require patience and a little bit of luck on their part. Ajala in particular may well feel hard done by, with his only appearance yielding two goals in a Carabao Cup fixture.
Ajala had a night he’ll never forget against Southampton – but opportunities look few and far between with several ahead of him in the queue
The nineteen year old may have to contain his exuberance a while longer until the inevitable grind of the Championship’s fixture load starts to impact the fitness of those ahead of him. Trouble is, with Castellanos, Piroe, Bowen, Solomon, Austbø and Pablo all ahead of him in the queue, it may be a long wait.
Nuno’s formation switch has already proven he’s not adverse to playing Solomon or Austbø out of position so Ajala may be the ‘last’ option rather than a “plan B” in Nuno’s thinking. Much like Kanté last season, he’ll have to be patient and take his opportunity when it comes.
With another 38 games stretching ahead like a serious physical assault course, in the second half of the season there’ll surely come more knocks and strains to the regulars, meaning the youngsters do get their chance to stake their claim for more game time.
With his ranging style, habit of running late into the box, his habit of pressing high, he could be a feasible replacement for Pablo. He eats up the ground like Pablo, not as physical, but still can press high and harry. Although Piroe & Taty can be good alternatives slightly behind the front line they do not press as effectively across the width of a pitch.
As Ajala is used to U21 quick, one-touch football, he would play well off Engels, Mukasa or Orford. A lot to ask of a youngster to fill that role, but as a sub for a tiring Pablo, Ajala could learn and gain experience especially with skillful & more experienced players around him. Might be a possibility and also move him up the pecking order. All the same, not an easy role to fill but he might have the suitable skills ability for it?
It could be a double edged sword for the youngsters though Martin, the squad is big enough to make it difficult for them to break through, yet also too small to allow them to go out on loan.