The noise surrounding Divin Mubama has become a roar and tonight could be the start of a long term first team involvement for the teenager. He has been on his marks for too long and tonight in Serbia the metaphorical gun could be fired and the academy prospect will be on his way. Indeed Kevin Nolan believes Divin’s time has arrived .
Nolan believes Divin’s time has arrived
With the Hammers on top of Group A playing the weakest current team in it, this looks a perfect opportunity for Divin who has looked very much on the case whenever he has been handed his chance. Given some much needed service out of midfield this could be the night when he announces himself as a first teamer.
First team coach Nolan has been there and done it of course and admits he is a fan of the young man telling the London Evening Standard: “What Divin will give you is real hard work, energy, he likes to hold the ball up, he’s a good finisher, makes clever runs. He brings that effervescence, that energy and on Saturday we saw that when he came on.
Nolan has taken a particularly close interest in the development of a crop of academy players rated as West Ham’s best in two decades and has built a strong bond with a number of the youngsters involved in last season’s FA Youth Cup win and he gets a real kick out of one of them breaking through.
“When we put them out, we’ve got to make them fly. We’ve got to monitor them and keep pushing, and keep telling and reminding the gaffer, because he’s got a big squad to handle.
In Mubama’s case, though, there is a sense of urgency with contract talks still stalled.
Nolan says: “All you can do is control the controllable. With Divin, we’ve got to make sure that he’s happy, getting game time. People can always say he could go there and play but we have to make sure we stick together as a club and show Divin that there’s a real pathway for him.
“That was the start of it on Saturday. All Divin’s got to do is keep doing what he’s doing, keep his feet on the ground and keep working hard. He’s a really grounded lad. I speak to [the youngsters] a lot about making sure you’re ready, even for five minutes.