New kid on the block feature: Ajibola Alese

Academy defender Ajibola Alese was born in Elm Park, East London and joined the Hammers Under 8’s at the tender young age of eight years of age.

The centre back became a full-time Academy of Football scholar in summer 2017, by which time he had already made his U18 Premier League debut against Norwich City on 4th February of the same year.

The defender featured eight times in total in 2016/17 while still a schoolboy before making a further four U18 Premier League South appearances the following season.

The 2017/18 campaign also saw Alese debut in Premier League 2 Division 1 in a goalless draw with Everton on 11 August 2017, and keep clean sheets on each of his first three starts.

At International level, he was capped three times at England U16 level before graduating to the Young Lions’ U17 squad in February 2018.

Alese helped England to reach the semi-finals of the 2018 UEFA European U17 Championship finals, where they were edged out 6-5 by the Netherlands in a penalty shootout. The defender featured three times at the tournament, also starting the group-stage defeat by Switzerland and quarter-final win over Norway.

The West Ham 19-year-old made his senior side debut in the Carabao Cup clash with Hull City on Tuesday night playing the full ninety minutes alongside Fabian Balbuena.

He spent the 2019/20 campaign on loan at Accrington Stanley, making 15 appearances in all competitions and won the Dylan Tombides Award in the 2019 end of season awards.