West Ham academy hattrick hero Armstrong Okoflex should be given first team debut
West Ham United teenager Armstrong Okoflex may have made a statement in the academy at the perfect time.
The 19-year-old winger scored a hattrick for the club’s Under-23 side in a 4-2 win away at Crystal Palace today (6 December).
It was his second hattrick of the season, after also netting a treble against Arsenal in August.
In total, Okoflex has registered 10 goals and one assist in 13 appearances in Premier League 2 this season.
It is fair to say that he has settled into life superbly since signing in the summer from Celtic, where he made two senior appearances.
Speaking after Okoflex’s hattrick against Palace, Under-23s manager Mark Robson said: “Armstrong played really well today. In the offensive third I thought he was a real threat and even in the middle part of the pitch, we were just talking about tidying up a little bit and moving the ball a little quicker.
“Sometimes you can’t beat two or three men – you need to move it, run and get it back further down the pitch – and I thought he did parts of that really well today.
“If he can add that to his game, and we can get him in areas where he’s one against one with people, he’s a massive, massive threat, and I thought he was good at that today.”
The Irishman’s sensational performance may have earned him a spot in the matchday squad for West Ham’s Europa League fixture against Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday (9 December).
The Hammers have already guaranteed their spot as winners of their group, so David Moyes is likely to rest most of his senior players for the match against the Croatian outfit.
While that will mean game time for some fringe members of the first team squad, it is expected that some younger names may feature too.
There are few players in the Under-23 squad that deserve the opportunity to make their first team debut more than Okoflex, who has surely caught the eye of Moyes.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers need to act fast to sign this 14-goal striker.
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