While Freddie Potts, Callum Marshall, Lewis Orford and Preston Fearon all seized the opportunities afforded to them in pre-season, there was another West Ham United starlet who found himself on the outside looking in.
Freddie Potts proved to be a ‘class act’ in the centre of the park. A midfielder who models his game on Edson Alvarez presenting himself as a viable alternative to the exit-linked Mexican.
Callum Marshall was dubbed ‘Jamie Vardy 2.0’ by the fans who watched him press ferociously from the front in the USA. Orford produced a couple of eye-catching cameos too, while Jarrod Bowen cannot speak highly enough of Preston Fearon; A ‘special’ talent with a penchant for nutmegging his far-more established teammates on the training pitch.
But there is still one man missing.
Graham Potter had earmarked a big role for George Earthy this summer. That was until the most ill-timed of ankle ligament injuries ruled West Ham United’s 2024 Young Player of the Year out of the trip to America.
Though Jim Hampsheir, the club’s long-serving Senior Academy Integration Officer, remains as confident as ever that a midfielder who joined the academy at Under-6 level still has a bright future ahead of him in claret and blue.
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Jim Hampsheir explains what makes West Ham United’s George Earthy so special
One year after he burst onto the scene with a maiden Premier League goal on the final day of the 2023/24 campaign, George Earthy picked up another award on loan at Bristol City.
A highly impressive first season of senior football, and a second successive Young Player of the Year gong.
Hampsheir had watched the East London-born 20-year-old develop his talents behind the scenes for years, meanwhile; Earthy part of the West Ham team which brutalised Arsenal in the 2023 FA Youth Cup final alongside Ollie Scarles, Divin Mubama, Kaelan Casey and more.
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“I remember it being pointed out to me that from the FA Youth Cup-winning side, most of them had come through my department from an early age,” Hampsheir smiles, speaking to the official website. “It shows that the pre-Academy is a very, very important part of the club.
“Because you can teach the best players, or the ones who can develop at younger ages, the ‘West Ham way’ and get them to love the staff and the club.
“I mean, there are some top players in that group. Little George was like a Rolls Royce on the pitch, and he hasn’t changed! From day one, the way he plays, he’s full of energy and has a great attitude. He can receive, pass, read the game, track back…
“He hasn’t changed at all!”
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Earthy was likened to David Silva by David Moyes at the London Stadium
David Moyes drew comparisons with Manchester City icon David Silva a year ago. Earthy’s slight frame, the Scot felt, could comfortably be offset by the sort of silky close control and vision money cannot buy.
With Graham Potter appearing to prefer a lone-striker system with two mobile attacking midfielders in behind – likely to be Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta away at Sunderland on Saturday – Earthy may prove to be a natural fit once he recovers full fitness.
“Someone said to me through a contact to go and watch him. I think he was six, playing in the Under-7s,” recalls Hampsheir, who is also looking forward to seeing Josh Cullen captain Burnley in the Premier League next season.
“It was just around the corner from my house. I was just standing there watching, and I thought; ‘Oh my God, straight away, you can see who he is.’
“Not everything came off that he was trying to do, but he was an absolutely silky player. I spoke to his dad, a West Ham fan. I still get on really well with Paul now! We had him in the pre-Academy, and again, like a lot of the others, he’s been here since then and kept progressing.
“He’s a great player and a great lad. Hopefully he can be a great player for West Ham for many years to come.
“It was a similar situation with Lewis [Orford]. When you’re looking at players like him and George, having looked back now, those sorts of players more often than not go right the way through. Lewis has done really well this season and made his first-team debut, which is great.”
Hampsheir also singles out Casey and Potts, a pair of 20-year-olds who appear to have comfortably outgrown the youth-team pond.
On loan in the Championship for the season, after Potts’ terrific stint with Portsmouth last time out, Kaelan Casey enjoyed an impressive Swansea City debut in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup victory over Crawley Town.