Ollie Scarles likened to Aaron Cresswell as 'aggressive' West Ham claim made
Ollie Scarles would do a good job turning out anything like Aaron Cresswell at West Ham United.
The Rush Green product has emerged as a first-team starter for the Hammers this season, following the departure of El Hadji Malick Diouf.
The left-back was the second-youngest player on the field in the 3-2 win over Bolton, with on-loan 19-year-old midfielder Divine Mukasa the most youthful.
Scarles earned valuable Premier League experience under Nuno Espirito Santo last campaign, and continues to play as a first-team starter this season.
The arrival of Adam Boiro now means he has competition for his spot at full-back, as it may only drive the young man on.
However, if Scarles reaches performances that are at the level of former West Ham hero in Cresswell, he will have no problem keeping his place.
Why Ollie Scarles is now being compared to Aaron Cresswell
Cresswell left the London Stadium last summer after his contract expired, bringing his 11-year stay in E20 to an end.
The Englishman made a total of 369 appearances for the Irons, scoring 11 goals and winning a European trophy.
He's now contracted to Stoke City, but has yet to play for the Potters this campaign after suffering a knee injury at the start of August.
Julian Dicks has spoken to The Athletic about Scarles, and has even compared his early performances at West Ham to Cresswell's.
The former West Ham figure said: "Ollie’s got a decent left foot on him, but he needs to be more aggressive. I had a similar situation with Aaron Cresswell because I worked with him as first-team coach under Slaven Bilic.
“Aaron had a magnificent left foot, but he didn’t score enough goals, create chances, or get past the halfway line enough. He was good enough to start attacks from defence, but he never did.
“Hopefully we see a bit more from Ollie.”
Cresswell obviously upped his attacking game even more once Slaven Bilic departed, registering a combined 17 goals and assists between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.
Perhaps a little more patience is required with Scarles.
The key stat that shows Scarles can follow in Cresswell's footsteps
Scarles has had some tough moments already at the London Stadium, but they could mould him into a hero for the Hammers.
Playing a part in the club's promotion would help, too, and Nuno is backing the 20-year-old for success.
Scarles has an early cross success rate of 26 per cent, which isn't far off Cresswell's 29 per cent rate during his eight-assist season in the 2020-21 campaign.
The problem for Scarles is that he's yet to register a single goal contribution in a West Ham shirt, and now has 41 appearances to his name.
Full-backs are expected to be a threat going forward, and it's something Scarles needs to work on if his West Ham story is going to be a successful one.