Gold now tips youngsters to make the grade

David Gold appears to have had had a change of heart when it comes to the Academy youngsters chances of breaking through.

In May he faced widespread criticism when he said “I think we all have to accept that it is extremely unlikely that a teenager will break into a PL team full of seasoned international. dg” later adding: “Playing teenagers doesn’t guarantee success. Hull came fifth (in number of youngsters played) and got relegated. Chelsea came last and won the league. Sam (Allardyce) played the teenagers at Nottingham Forest (in 2014) and we got beat 5-0.”

When one West Ham fan messaged this weekend praising Nathan Holland Reece Oxford Josh Cullen, Toni Martinez and Declan Rice. Gold agreed by saying: “I am extremely optimistic that these young men are capable of making the grade plus a couple you haven’t mentioned. dg”

He later mentioned the other names adding: “Yes Domingos Quina is a great prospect. dg”  “Yes Martin (Samuelsson) must be included in the list of future prospects. dg” and “Reece Burke is as good a young defender as I’ve seen. dg”