Graham Potter couldn’t contain his delight at the performance of West Ham academy star Ollie Scarles, who had a scintillating full Premier League debut against Arsenal.
Scarles’ inclusion was no last-minute roll of the dice either, with the player himself revealing that he’d been training with the starting eleven all week.
The 19-year-old replaced Emerson at left wing-back, and the Italian international must now be wondering if he’ll get his first-team shirt back, such was Scarles’ performance.
It looks like Emerson chose completely the wrong time to deliver a poor performance against Brentford. His involvement in the Bees’ winning goal was highly suspect as he failed to fully commit to a 50/50 header with Bryan Mbeumo.
Clearly, West Ham boss Potter was less than impressed, as he replaced Emerson with Scarles at half-time. The Bromley-born FA Youth Cup winner was a marked improvement in the second half of that game, and he continues to improve and impress.
Potter was clearly unimpressed with Emerson’s Brentford showing
Academy will be buzzing
Scarles has a real eye for tackling and interceptions, an underrated skill, and it likely won’t be long before he notches his first goal or assist. It should be noted that the young defender is no charity case either. Emerson has provided excellent value since his transfer from Chelsea but right now, Scarles is simply the better option.
With Juventus believed to be chasing Emerson in the summer, Scarles’ trajectory appears to be on the rise, breathing new life into West Ham’s Academy.
There now seems to be a direct pathway from the youth teams to Graham Potter’s squad, and the gaffer himself could not be more pleased:
“Ollie trains hard every day, but he’s a great person as well. He’s fully committed, loves the club, loves the team, and he wants to play for West Ham,” said Potter.
“He’s got a lot going for him, and his personality is really impressive. It’s a huge thank you to the Academy, really, because they’ve helped us by developing a top player!”.
Nice to read sensible comments instead of the anti-everyone brigade.
Steady Emerson is not finished just yet though.
COYI
I think it’s most refreshing to read this kind of positive feedback. Graham Potter is a breath of fresh air too, with his acknowledgement of the Academy’s hard work.. And it’s not just lip service as it was with Lopetegui, Potter not only talks the talk but actually walks the walk. So well done Ollie Scarles. Ollie Ollie Ollie, oi oi oi!
Potter is doing exactly what West Ham should be doing by utilising the great academy that we have, with a number of prospects on the horizon from the youth cup winning team.
Well done Mr Potter. You are already showing what many of our recent managers have overlooked.
Emerson has been great for us, he was head and shoulders our best player in our Prague final win. But with not much to play for, it would be a good time to bed Scarles into the first team.
He’s only played a few games, beyond that we don’t know how good he is. People said that Ben Johnson was the best thing since sliced bread but he wasn’t in the longer term and the only takers on a free were relegation favourites Ipswich. It takes far more time than this to know. He’s broken through and looks promising is an achievement and is all that can be said.
A voice of reason, as always, John. I agree with you. We have to be careful to praise but not overhype at such an early stage in his career. It goes without saying that we all hope he continues to be included and to improve. So far, he’s been a breath of fresh air.
No doubt he too will have a Declan Rice ‘duck from the header’ moment and we’ll all be questioning whether he’s the real deal, but to even be at this point is great. Keep it up, Ollie – you have the Claret & Blue Army in your corner.
Good shout John. I seem to remember a certain Reece Oxford against arsenal a ways back