The pervading feeling, after West Ham United crept past Burton Albion in the FA Cup fourth round thanks to supersub Crysencio Summerville, is that Nuno Espirito Santo would be best served leaving the experimentation to one side.
True, a cup clash against a team in the League One relegation zone did offer the Hammers boss a chance to take a closer look at a few fringe players and a handful of youngsters.
Yet, after the ‘almost unstoppable’ Crysencio Summerville spared Nuno’s blushes with a fine solo effort in extra time, the view of the travelling supporters was that the gulf between West Ham’s usual XI and the rest is pretty wide.
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Adama Traore of West Ham United is challenged by Sebastian Revan of Burton Albion during the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Burton Albion and West Ham United at Pirelli Stadium on February 14, 2026 in Burton-upon-Trent, England.
Soungoutou Magassa and Mohamadou Kante struggled to really impose themselves against limited opposition. Adama Traore offered very little on the right. And neither Ollie Scarles nor Kyle Walker-Peters could have any complaints about losing their places to Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf when the Premier League returns this weekend.
The good news, though, is that Alphonse Areola and Mads Hermansen are providing much healthier competition between the sticks. As for the long-term future of West Ham United’s goalkeeping department, the sight of Finlay Herrick on the bench at Burton and Mason Terry’s masterclass at Braintree Town provides real reason for optimism.
Mason Terry rated 10/10 after West Ham United kid saves Braintree Town
Dagenham & Redbridge v West Ham United - Pre-Season Friendly
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images
England Under-20 international Herrick featured among the substitutes for a second successive FA Cup clash with Hermansen given the afternoon off.
Over in Essex, meanwhile, fellow youngster Mason Terry produced what Sofascore described as a perfect ten performance in a 0-0 draw with Solihull Moors. Should Areola move on this summer, and there is a chance he will, both Herrick and Terry may fancy their chances of beginning the 2026/27 campaign as Nuno’s second-choice shot-stopper.
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Herrick is ‘the real deal’, according to many Hammers fans who have watched him pull off exceptional saves at Under-21 level. And after Herrick’s brief but brilliant stint on loan with Boreham Wood in the National League, Terry’s remarkable run of form down the road at Braintree is also garnering plenty of attention.
Terry was ‘within minutes’ of leaving Braintree for a loan spell at an unnamed League Two club, manager Steve Pitt told Gazette News earlier this month. They, and his coach, will be counting their lucky stars that he didn’t.
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West Ham United's Mason Terry during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Dagenham & Redbridge and West Ham United at Chigwell Construction Stadium on July 20, 2024 in Dagenham, England.
Terry follows up cup goal with more ‘quality saves’ in the National League
Not content with scoring an equaliser in the dying embers of a National League Cup match with Truro City – Terry went up for a late set-piece and channelled his inner-Anatoliy Trubin days after the Benfica glovesman stunned Real Madrid in Lisbon – the West Ham loanee has now made 26 saves in his last three league matches.
Ten of which came against Solihull Moors. A performance which earned him a 10/10 Sofascore rating, and also saw Braintree stay the right side of the relegation zone.
“Mason made two or three great saves, which he tends to do most games, to be fair,” Pitt said of a goalkeeper who now has an impressive eight clean sheets for a relegation-battling side.
“I’ve just said to him in [the dressing room] there, I expect him to make those saves. But nevertheless, they are quality saves. You can see why the lad has all the attributes and why he should have moved on in the [transfer] window.”
Since January 26th, Terry now picked up four successive Man of the Match awards, a perfect ten match rating, a goal, plus 26 saves across three league outings.
With he and Herrick going from strength to strength, maybe the Hammers do not have to go into the market for a new second-choice goalkeeper.
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