Oliver Scarles needs honest Nuno conversation even though he started vs Rangers - here's why
Oliver Scarles started for West Ham United as they played out a goalless draw against Rangers at Ibrox.
The Hammers continued their pre-season preparations by getting some more minutes in the legs against the Scottish Premiership giants.
After suffering a dismal relegation from the Premier League last term, West Ham know the pressure is on to hit the ground running.
They have another friendly outing with FC Magdeburg next weekend, before facing Portsmouth in the EFL Cup.
Then it's on to the Championship season opener at Burnley on 16 August, when the real tests begin.
But before we get to that point, 20-year-old Scarles might need to be having an honest conversation with Nuno Espirito Santo after reports this week.
West Ham transfer decision directly affects Scarles
This week, West Ham Zone covered reported that Brentford had bid to sign West Ham left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf.
The Senegal international only joined from Slavia Prague 12 months ago for a fee in the region of £19million.
However, the Bees - who have already signed Callum Wilson this summer - were quickly rebuffed in their efforts to sign the 21-year-old.
West Ham have reportedly told Brentford that Diouf will not be sold this summer for any price.
You can certainly understand West Ham's stance, because they cannot sign-off on too many player sales this summer.
But you cannot help feel that this has a direct impact on the development on Scarles, and there may have to be a solution found.
West Ham should consider solution for Oliver Scarles
Aged 20, there is only a year between Scarles and Diouf, and the Hammers youngster is at an important stage of his career.
He made 13 Premier League appearances last term, nine of which were as a starter, totalling 668 minutes.
Scarles will have hoped to rack up many more minutes in the Championship this season, but that might prove tricky if Diouf is sticking around.
It is a tough one for Nuno because he will not want to lose any left-back cover, but at the same time he won't want to risk damaging Scarles' development.
Scarles should consider an honest chat with the manager, and one compromise could be sending Scarles out on loan to make sure he's getting enough game time.
It could be that West Ham include a recall clause in January and reassess the situation in the New Year, because they need to make sure he remains on an upward trajectory in his development.