By Sam Stone

27th Oct, 2022 | 7:19am

Pierre Ekwah trains with West Ham United first team ahead of Conference League clash v Silkeborg

20-year-old Pierre Ekwah has trained with West Ham United’s first team ahead of their UEFA Conference League clash against Silkeborg.

Ekwah has yet to play a game for David Moyes’ first team but was in the bench during the Irons’ qualifying round fixtures against Viborg.

The Hammers posted a training clip ahead of their fixture against Silkeborg and Football London’s Jonty Colman (26 October), confirmed the young Frenchman was involved in the preparations for the game.

West Ham will be without Maxwel Cornet, Lucas Paqueta and Craig Dawson for the match on Thursday evening (27 October).

Give him a runout

The Hammers have already guaranteed their spot in the knockout stages and are almost certainly going to top the group. A home fixture at the London Stadium, with less pressure from the crowd, does seem like the ideal scenario for Moyes to blood some of his younger players.

Youth players do need a taste of first-team football, and games like this are an opportunity to do so without sending players out on loan. Furthermore, it’s also a chance for Moyes to give some of his first-teamers a night off, with three crucial Premier League games before the World Cup break.

West Ham currently sit in tenth place in the Premier League but are only five points above the relegation zone at the moment. Ensuring the Irons are in and around the top half come the break has to be the priority for Moyes moving forward.

Considering their poor start to the season, most fans would be more than happy to be sitting in midtable ahead of the break.