Much of the pre-match talk this weekend surrounded West Ham United’s next generation, though there will be no Mohamadou Kante, Callum Marshall, George Earthy or Ezra Mayers in Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad.
Mayers and Kante trained with West Ham’s seniors during the week, alongside highly-rated goalkeeper Finlay Herrick and Under-21 captain Airidas Golambeckis.
Now, considering that Golambeckis was conspicuous by his absence when Greg Lincoln’s reserves beat Liverpool 3-0 on Friday night – Ryan Battrum wore the armband instead – that felt like confirmation that he will be in Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad for the clash with Burnley.
Nuno is keen to help Golambeckis develop and hone his considerable talents up against Jarrod Bowen and co at Rush Green.
In contrast, Mayers and Kante did feature against Liverpool though, alongside Callum Marshall and George Earthy.
Kante will have to wait, then, to be included in a Premier League squad for the very first time. But it surely won’t be long before he makes the step up. The Frenchman scored a stunning effort with his supposedly ‘weaker’ left boot as Liverpool were swept aside by a ruthless West Ham United outfit.
Young West Ham star Mohamadou Kante warms up alongside Edson Alvarez
Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
West Ham United beat Liverpool 3-0 as Greg Lincoln lauds Mohamadou Kante strike
Mohamadou Kante has set himself a target of 20 goals or assists from midfield during his first season with West Ham’s reserves. The former Paris FC starlet is now well on his way to achieving that feat.
This was his sixth goal contribution in eleven matches in league and cup.
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“The third goal from Mo…,” Lincoln said admiringly, via the club’s official website. “You know, he’s capable of that, isn’t he?
“He’s powerful, he’s strong, he’s direct. That strike was really out of the top drawer. I think that would have lit up any stadium.”
Academy Manager Kenny Brown feels Kante is a ‘modern Premier League midfielder’ just waiting to explode in claret and blue. Another performance in which he looked a cut above at Under-21 level will only increase the clamour for him to be fast-tracked into Nuno’s plans.
Callum Marshall starts and scores as he sends Nuno Espirito Santo a reminder
Somewhat surprisingly, given that Callum Wilson picked up an injury and was a doubt for that Burnley meeting, Callum Marshall started against Liverpool on Friday.
Nuno gave Marshall his Premier League debut against Arsenal a month ago. It appears that, despite Wilson’s issues and Niclas Fullkrug’s own injury problems, the Northern Ireland international has returned to the reserve-team set-up for the time being.
Marshall tackled the ball into the net as West Ham took the lead against Liverpool. Some fans likened Marshall to Jamie Vardy after watching him tear around the pitch in pre-season, and this was another display of dogged determination and his goal-poaching potential.
Lincoln hails Josh Ajala and Emeke Adiele combination
Josh Ajala rattled in a brilliant second for Lincoln’s side, assisted by the ever-creative Emeka Adiele.
Rampaging left-sider Adiele has reached double figures for West Ham already this term, while setting up five goals in nine Premier League 2 matches.
“I’ve spoken before about Callum and George [Earthy], two players who really personify the values of the Club and the academy,” Lincoln adds.
“And for two first-team players to come down, play with us, the way that they approach the game, as if it’s their last. Their conduct, their attitude, their running.
“The first goal epitomised Callum, really. He leaves everything out there on the pitch. The second goal was a fantastic team goal. You’ve seen that connection between Emeka [Adiele] and Josh Ajala throughout the season. Down that left side, it really worked well out of pressure.
“I think the boys are really relentless in their pursuit of excellence. They carry on from first minute to the last.
“So I think that was pleasing to see, how they just sustained the pressure really until the goals come. We could have scored more, so it was really pleasing.”