Journalist shares what people inside West Ham United say about Divin Mubama
People inside West Ham rate Divin Mubama “very highly” after coming through the ranks at the London Stadium, according to Paul Brown.
Speaking to GiveMeSport on Monday (27 November), the former Daily Star journalist said the 19-year-old has “got something about him” and the Hammers are hoping he will “progress into a really good player”.
Despite making an impact as a substitute in the 2-1 victory over Burnley on Saturday (25 November), he believes David Moyes is more likely to use the England U-20 international “a bit more sparingly off the bench” in the next few weeks after continuing to favour out-of-form senior forward Danny Ings at the moment in time.
“Knowing Moyes like I do, and how much of a captain cautious manager he is, I would be surprised if he gives Mubama a run of starts now,” said Brown. “There’s an argument for doing so and I know that people inside the club really rate this kid very highly.
“He looks like he’s got something about him. There’s clearly some talent there and they hope he’ll progress into a really good player, but it would be out of character for Moyes to expect so much so quickly from someone who’s just coming into the team.
“So I suspect that he will be used a bit more sparingly off the bench over the next few weeks to see if he really does have it and whether he can stay consistent.”
Earned his chance
It would be completely unfair on Mubama to continue playing Ings ahead of him after the 31-year-old has offered very little since signing for West Ham from Aston Villa in January.
The forward has been handed a number of opportunities to prove his worth and it simply just isn’t happening for him in East London.
The Hammers academy product, however, came on for him with just under half an hour left to play and helped turn the game in his side’s favour at Turf Moor.
While Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio continue to miss time, there is absolutely no reason not to play Mubama ahead of Ings because the teenager has more confidence at this moment in time.
It feels unlikely that Moyes will make that decision, but the senior striker surely must be running out of opportunities to impress after his recent displays.
In other West Ham news, the club are in the hunt to sign an “outstanding” Euro star.