While George Earthy and Finlay Herrick dominated the post-match discussion as West Ham United sealed their place in the last-16 of the EFL Trophy, another exciting young talent maintained his fabulous form a day later.
George Earthy received a rousing ovation from the travelling supporters who made their way down to Essex. His reward for another goal at Under-21 level. Still, the playmaker was arguably overshadowed by the man between the sticks.
Goalkeeper Finlay Herrick was in ‘heroic’ mood, saving a stoppage-time Colchester penalty and tipping the rebound onto the crossbar. As the New Year approaches, Earthy and Herrick will be chief among the West Ham United starlets looking to force their way into Nuno’s first-team squad.
The ambition for Chuk Obi, meanwhile, will be to make the step up from the Under-18s to the Under-21s.
West Ham United's George Earthy
Photo by IAN KINGTON/AFP via Getty Images
Chuk Obi scores twice as he eases into U18 life at West Ham United
The 16-year-old centre-forward is going about things the right way, though. While he is not quite as prolific as his older brother Chido, now at Manchester United, another former Arsenal kid clearly has an eye for goal himself.
George Earthy certainly is the best young prospect at West Ham. What more does he need to do for Nuno to give him game time?
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“I’m delighted,” Obi told West Ham’s official website after scoring two and assisting another in a 4-1 hammering of Leicester. “I feel like we dominated the game, and we deserved to win. We could have scored a few more goals.
“I could’ve scored a hat-trick! But we still won the game.”
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Capped by Denmark at youth level, Obi scored 17 goals for the Under-16s last season. Now, with a trio of goals in the U18 Premier League and two more in the cup against the Foxes, he has made the transition look pretty straightforward.
“I’m feeling good, but there’s always more that I can do,” adds Obi, who has set his sights on U17 Premier League Cup glory. “We were good all around, the defending was top today. Our goalkeeper, Fin [Hooper], was good as well.
“It means a lot to the team [to get through to the semi-finals]. We have a strong team, and I feel like we can win it.”
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