Why Airidas Golambeckis' England exploits will concern West Ham and Nuno Espirito Santo
Airidas Golambeckis was one of several West Ham United players to get called up for England's U20s.
The centre-back was given the call-up along with Divine Mukasa, Ezra Mayers and Finlay Herrick, though the latter has since withdrawn from the squad through injury.
All four have been given a chance for the first team already this season, and could have an important part to play as the campaign develops.
Nuno Espirito Santo will be hoping that the remaining three West Ham youngsters can help England's U20s have a successful Elite League campaign, with games against France and Germany yet to come.
Lee Carsley's side beat Italy 3-1 on Friday, as Golambeckis and Mukasa started, with Myers an unused substitute.
However, what happened with Golambeckis may be an early concern for Nuno and West Ham.
Why Airidas Golambeckis' England U20 exploits may worry West Ham
Golambeckis has been tipped to become a future West Ham starter.
The 18-year-old has played twice for the Hammers this season, as both appearances came in back-to-back games against Southampton in the Carabao Cup and a 1-1 draw to Watford.
The teenager has since been on the bench for several Championship games for the Irons, including the Dockers Derby draw with Millwall before the break.
His reputation at Rush Green earned him his first-ever call-up to England's U20s squad, but his debut didn't go perfectly.
Though the young Three Lions won, Golambeckis was bailed out after he scored an own goal in the 66th minute,
Shea Lacey's late strike ensured the win for the U20s, though their downfall could have been due to Golambeckis.
The reason why this could worry Nuno and the Hammers is because of their current centre-back situation.
If Konstantinos Mavropanos gets injured, it's already looking light, but if anything were to happen to either Max Kilman or Morato, Golambeckis is next in line to cover.
An example of this is when Mavropanos was unavailable to play against Watford, as Morato had not signed for the Hammers yet.
The Irons dropped two points in a 1-1 draw as Golambeckis picked up a 6.6 FotMob rating, the worst score in the backline.
What the plan could be for 'elegant' Golambeckis
In 2024, The Guardian ranked Golambeckis in the top 20 up-and-coming talents in the Premier League.
The centre-back was described as a prized possession due to his "elegant defending".
However, that is perhaps exactly why his physicality needs to get up to speed before he can feature week in, week out during West Ham's promotion push.
A loan move would be ideal for Golambeckis, though with him currently Nuno's fourth-choice centre-back, another player would need to come through the doors in E20 before he could leave.
Either a loan switch to a League One or League Two side could serve the youngster well, but the England U20s game is a reality check for the Hammers.