For any striker, particularly a West Ham United youngster with ambitions of becoming a Premier League regular, comparisons with Harry Kane and Julian Alvarez are quite the compliment.
If England’s all-time record goalscorer has been performing at a genuinely world-leading level for the best part of a decade, Julian Alvarez is making inroads on the elite himself now over in Spain.
Once the Robin to Erling Haaland’s irrepressible Batman at Manchester City, Alvarez is relishing the role of Atletico Madrid’s superhero these days. The Argentine did not quite reach the same heights as Kane – 41 goals in a stunning second season at Bayern Munich – but he did finish the 2024/25 campaign with 29 to his name.
Callum Marshall is yet to open his account in a West Ham United shirt, in contrast, but he is determined to ensure that changes sooner rather than later.
Marshall is desperate to get off the mark. The Northern Ireland international made his Premier League bow in a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal and, as far as he is concerned, that was only the beginning.
Kevin Keen, West Ham United’s lead professional development phase coach, believes there are shades of Harry Kane in Marshall.
Italian analyst Marco Palma, highlighting some of the best young talent around in conversation with Tuttomercatoweb, draws his own comparisons, picking Atletico’s Alvarez as the player he feels Marshall resembles the most.
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West Ham United’s Callum Marshall compared to Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez
Keen was reminded of the Tottenham Hotspur legend when watching Marshall locate the bottom corner with laser-like precision for West Ham’s youth teams.
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Palma, who also works as a scout, believes that the former West Brom and Huddersfield Town loanee also possesses an Alvarez-esque penchant for drifting across the frontline, looking for spaces in which to execute his thumping drives.
The fabulous goal Marshall scored against Grasshopper Zurich in pre-season perhaps highlighted these talents most emphatically.
“A highly mobile centre-forward or winger with a keen eye for goal, Marshall developed his skills at Linfield, where he stood out for his performances and excellent goalscoring,” Palma tells TMW.
“A natural left-footer, he loves to roam and looks for shots on goal, thanks to his powerful and precise shot.”
Kevin Keen explains those Harry Kane comparisons
Nuno is a confirmed admirer of Marshall’s ‘energy’ and ‘mobility’, while also highlighting the impressive finishing skills he had demonstrated during a flying start to the season with West Ham’s Under-21s.
The 20-year-old from Glengormley has notched five goals in seven games for the reserve side, with two ingenious finishes coming against MK Dons in the EFL Trophy.
“There’s a poacher instinct to him,” Keen told The Standard recently. “His goal in the Youth Cup final [when West Ham battered Arsenal 5-1 in 2023] sums it up. From probably about three or four yards, he’s got between bodies and volleyed it in.
“He’s also got that ability to score from near the edge of the box, a little bit like Harry Kane hits those low shots into far corners.”
West Ham legend highlights Marshall’s ‘fantastic’ personality
More opportunities could come Marshall’s way at West Ham. Niclas Fullkrug is injured again, and could also be sold in January.
“This boy came in from Northern Ireland, and within 10 minutes, me and my assistant turned to each other and went, we’ve got to sign this kid,” adds Keen, who played nearly 300 matches for West Ham between 1986 and 1993.
“His enthusiasm, his energy, aligned with his footballing knowledge just shone through. The energy, the non-stop enthusiasm, is just fantastic.
“I see a lot of boys who’ve been in the academy system since they were nine, and when you get a boy from Northern Ireland come over at 16, who’s not been in that system, they bring a rawness, a naturalness that sometimes can be lost by over-coaching,” says Keen.
“I think that desire, the win-at-all-costs mentality, has gone a little bit out of the game, especially with youngsters. That is certainly there within Callum.
“He wants to win at everything. I think definitely when he’s on the pitch, he wants to be the best player. He wants to score. He wants to create. He wants to be the one in the team who drives it on. He’s got a real addictiveness.”