Thomas Tuchel has made a bold decision that shows the future is bright for West Ham and it is the clearest sign yet that the Hammers have their Declan Rice successor.
Graham Potter found out within weeks of becoming West Ham boss what his top priority was for the summer transfer window.
West Ham’s slow, ageing, immobile midfield has been a problem ever since England captain in waiting Declan Rice was sold to Arsenal in 2023.
It was always going to be virtually impossible for the Hammers to replace Rice like-for-like.
Even with ambitious, free-spending owners, West Ham would have found it hard to attract a player capable of stepping into the shoes of a generational talent like Rice.
But the Irons failed miserably to even come close to replacing the key attributes Rice brought to the West Ham team such as mentality, attitude, energy, athleticism and power.
West Ham fumbled Rice money until double buy
Potter’s £60m double move for Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa was months in the planning for that very reason.
West Ham left it late to get the deals done, though, going into the last week of the window and sacrificing the first two Premier League games and a cup run in the process.
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The arrival of Fernandes in particular has captured the imagination at West Ham.
Especially after his brilliant debut where he earned instant comparisons to Rice.
The Portuguese is being tipped for the very top of the game.
That was emphasised by the fact Fernandes admitted he was urged to secure a move back to the Premier League by national team boss Roberto Martinez, who told the Hammers star he wants him in his World Cup squad next summer.
When West Ham had £105m to find a Rice heir, they fumbled badly.
Declan Rice lifts the Europa Conference League trophy with West Ham
Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images
James Ward-Prowse, Edson Alvarez ate up nearly £70m of that bounty and Guido Rodriguez came on a free but only made West Ham’s midfield slower and older.
Now England boss Thomas Tuchel has made an astonishing West Ham call which proves a Rice heir is on the way.
The Hammers are rightly proud of their Academy roots.
The self-styled Academy of Football has been producing elite players for club and country at all levels consistently throughout its history.
West Ham have two young homegrown midfield stars emerging right now who many believe can go on to be the next Mark Noble or Rice.
Tuchel’s astonishing West Ham call proves Rice heir is on the way
Three Lions boss Tuchel has managed some of the biggest clubs in world football and knows a player when he sees one.
So everybody at West Ham should be excited by what he did in England training ahead of the World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.
The start of Tuchel’s England reign has been underwhelming to say the least.
A narrow 1-0 win over Andorra and a 3-1 home defeat to Senegal – which persuaded West Ham to push the boat out to sign left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf for £20m – has put pressure on the German boss.
Ahead of the September internationals, Tuchel has given his team a jolt, demanding improvements.
“We have to play with more energy, we have to play with more enthusiasm,” Tuchel told the press ahead of the game.
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His solution to get that reaction has been to promote players from England’s youth setup to inject some exuberance and offer a reminder talent is coming up on the rails behind the current first team stars.
"We have to play with more energy, we have to play with more enthusiasm" 🗣️
Thomas Tuchel on England's World Cup Qualifier against Andorra. pic.twitter.com/CwsHNmxFi1
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 6, 2025
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And one of the first Tuchel has turned to is West Ham United’s Lewis Orford.
The homegrown Hammers central midfielder is a lifelong West Ham supporter.
There are seriously high hopes for the elegant and tough-tackling star in east London.
Tuchel clearly likes what he has seen of Orford at St George’s Park too.
The England boss called Orford into senior training this week in a move which suggests the West Ham star’s talent is genuine.
Orford has been pictured in full England training alongside the likes of his club captain Jarrod Bowen and former skipper Rice.
Homegrown Hammer Orford can be West Ham’s Rice successor
Orford played for the Under 20s against Italy but will now remember this England camp for very different reasons.
Many Hammers fans wanted to see Potter include Orford in his first team squad this season given the dearth of talent and energy in central midfield before the arrivals of Fernandes and Magassa.
But Potter clearly felt Orford needed a loan first in order to be ready.
Orford is confident he can become a West Ham star and was eager to be involved with the first team this season.
He has joined League One Stevenage for the season instead and eyes will be on a return to the Hammers next summer.
The fact he has been called to train with England’s senior team by Tuchel should not be underestimated.
It is a huge vote of confidence that West Ham have a player on their hands.
And finally that long-term Rice heir the Hammers so desperately need.