West Ham United head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has called on youth in the early stages of his reign at the London Stadium, with Freddie Potts quickly working his way into the forefront of the tactician's plans after putting in strong performances in the middle of the park when trying to get his boyhood club out of the Premier League's relegation zone.
The central midfielder, who spent last season on loan with Championship side Portsmouth, has started each of the Hammers' last two fixtures and that led to back-to-back victories against Newcastle United and Burnley to move to within touching distance of escaping from the bottom three.
Although Potts was substituted last weekend through injury, the future appears to be bright for the 22-year-old. GIVEMESPORT has pinpointed three up-and-coming academy starlets who are still waiting to make their senior debut but have shown enough promise to follow in his footsteps at West Ham.
Airidas Golambeckis
Airidas Golambeckis
West Ham under-21s captain Airidas Golambeckis was named among the substitutes for the senior squad's Premier League victory over Burnley last weekend and, having been described as 'fantastic' by former Hammers defender Anton Ferdinand, influential figures behind the scenes have high hopes for him.
The centre-back was rewarded with his first professional contract on his 17th birthday earlier this month, highlighting that he has continued showing promise since initially joining the east Londoners at the age of nine having spent two years at the club's foundation football development schools in Beckton.
Golambeckis' performances in claret and blue have resulted in him currently being on international duty with the England under-19s, where he will be aiming to add to his five caps, and he is seeking to put the likes of Max Kilman, Jean-Clair Todibo, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Igor Julio under pressure as he goes in search of his senior bow for West Ham.
Mohamadou Kante
Mohamadou Kante
Having initially joined West Ham from Paris FC in August 2024, Mohamadou Kante played a key role in the French side winning promotion to Ligue 1 when he was given the green light to stay in familiar surroundings on a season-long loan last term, and he has wasted no time making an impact in east London.
Despite often being deployed as a defensive midfielder, he has already found the back of the net three times for the under-21s this campaign - with his latest strike coming in the victory over Liverpool last week - and that has emphasised that he is capable of making a difference in the final third of the pitch.
Although Kante's early season exploits have not been enough to persuade Nuno that he deserves to be given game time in the first-team, there have been suggestions that the 20-year-old is expected to be handed his debut in the near future and there is growing interest from Championship clubs ahead of the winter transfer window.
Ezra Mayers
Ezra Mayers
GMS sources recently revealed that Ezra Mayers is highly-rated behind the scenes, which led to him being on the bench when West Ham came from behind to bag all three points against Newcastle earlier this month, but Nuno has been sceptical about handing him first-team minutes as he does not want to take a gamble when embroiled in a relegation battle.
There have been fears that throwing the central defender into the starting line-up, when points had been hard to come by before they recorded two consecutive wins, could harm his development and it was decided that he should continue featuring at youth level while also training with the senior squad.
Mayers has made 10 appearances in all competitions for the under-21 side this season, often alongside Golambeckis, and he is still expected to push for his first-team bow despite the 18-year-old being sent off during the Vertu Trophy defeat to Reading in September.
All statistics courtesy of Sofascore - correct as of 12/11/2025