Nils Koppen reveals transfer page from West Ham board document, names multiple players
Nils Koppen has proven that he gets the West Ham fanbase after his latest comments.
Hammers supporters have been crying out for their club to go back to the West Ham Way in recent years.
It felt like the board has strayed from the norm, and started bringing in players who did not fit that slogan.
However, the Belgian will have the supporters back on track, after what he said about the transfer policy at the London Stadium.
The Irons have plenty of promising youngsters coming through their academy, who understand what the fans want.
Koppen has suggested that the recruitment team take them into account when deciding on transfers.
What did Nils Koppen say about West Ham youth players?
Hammers fans will be in dreamland after Koppen's admission, as they have wanted to see more Rush Green youth in the fold.
The former Rangers Technical Director, who is now the Irons' Director of Player Recruitment, revealed that the board always considers if a new signing with impact an academy starlet who has a chance to break though.
Speaking on the Ironcast podcast, released on Monday, he said: “In every transfer we bring in, our board document has a page asking; ‘Is he blocking an academy player or not?’ That’s always in the back of our mind, whether it’s Lewis Orford or Josh Ajala.
“Some of the boys have had very good development, Finlay Herrick playing games in the cup, Airidas [Golambeckis] playing games, Ollie Scarles and Lewis developing well and taking on a bigger role. It’s good to see young boys in and around the squad.
“Now it’s up to them to keep fighting for minutes. It’s not easy in a team fighting for promotion, but we’re happy to have so many young players around the first-team.”
That message will resonate with supporters, who have constantly made their wish for the E20 club to utilise their most promising talents, rather than splashing out huge sums on average talent.
How have West Ham's academy stars fared so far this season?
Scarles has had the most minutes of any academy graduate so far in the Championship campaign.
He has featured for a total of 434 minutes so far for Nuno's side in the second tier, with a total of five starts.
Mohamadou Kante is next, with 378 minutes and four starts under his belt in the division to date.
Orford has managed 224 minutes, with just one start in the league this season.
Airidas Golambeckis has played a total of 90 minutes, featuring in just one match in the division.
Finally, Ajala has featured for just 10 minutes in the league, despite his brace against Southampton in the Carabao Cup earlier in the season.
Koppen's words suggest that the Hammers have faith in the youngsters to step up over the season, so hopefully we will see much more of Golambeckis and Ajala in the near future.