Nathan Holland – as very much a part of the first team squad – needs a big pre-season.
Just as Declan Rice grabbed his opportunity a couple of years back, the young winger will surely be given the chance to impress the manager during the warm up games, presumably on the right side where there may well be an opportunity opening up for him.
Nathan has long been seen as the next big West Ham thing and it came as a surprise to see Grady Diangana force his way into the team ahead of him this season.
Holland has excited at under 23 level for two or three seasons now but his progress – notably under David Moyes – was interrupted by a couple of injuries.
But that he remains very much in the manager’s thoughts was demonstrated by his inclusion in the squad for the Manchester United game at Old Trafford.
Holland, Ben Johnson and Dan Kemp are the three to keep a very careful eye on in pre-season because if they are good enough they are old enough in Manuel Pellegrini’s world.
Quite apart from that – at a personal level I can’t wait to see young Holland in particular let loose!