David Moyes has learnt from previous West Ham United mistakes
West Ham are renowned for having one of the most affluent academies in the country with the likes of Declan Rice and Ben Johnson being the most recent success stories.
Both players have gone on to feature for the first team and Rice in particular could become one of the most valuable assets the club will ever have.
Utilising the academy can be an invaluable source of income for any club and it is clear that David Moyes is now eager to give more youth players chances in and around the first team.
17-year-old Regan Clayton has recently trained with the first team and 16-year-old Ollie Scarles travelled with Moyes’ squad to Belgium for their Europa Conference League fixture against Anderlecht.
It’s also been reported by The Athletic (12 October) that Scarles has “provisionally” agreed to sign a new deal at the London Stadium in December of 2023.
The club getting younger players tied down to new deals and regularly training with the first team could well be to avoid another repeat of the Sonny Perkins saga which occurred over the summer.
Perkins failed to agree on new terms at the London Stadium and was snapped up by Leeds United, where he has gone on to display some fine goalscoring form. The Hammers received a compensation package for the 18-year-old, but it would’ve been insignificant compared to what Perkins could’ve been worth in two or three years’ time.
The club hierarchy not offering Perkins a longer contract when he was coming through the academy ultimately saw West Ham shoot themselves in the foot.
Perkins was given the odd sporadic first-team appearance, and considering his goalscoring form for the under-21s side, he probably should’ve been given more of a chance. Harrison Ashby is another player whose future is very much up in the air, with his contract situation still yet to be resolved.
With news of more academy players signing new deals and being in and around the first-team squad, it’s quite clear that West Ham are desperate not to lose any of their younger players for significantly under their value.