Nuno must have his eye on Josh Landers after latest West Ham Under-21 scenes
Josh Landers finally ended his West Ham Under-21 goal drought in their 4-2 loss to Derby County on Friday.
Landers made headlines with a 17-minute hat-trick against Brighton’s Under-21 side in September but had failed to hit the target since.
The Scottish youth international fired the young Hammers into the lead, with a composed finish before powering home a header to level the scores at 2-2.
Ultimately, the West Ham youngsters were beaten, but Nuno Espirito Santo must keep a close eye on the 19-year-old after the latest scenes.
Why Landers can make the step up to West Ham’s first-team
Landers was prolific in the Under-18s, where he notched nine goals in 12 matches, and he has proved that he can make the step up to the next level.
He now has seven goals and one assist in 15 Premier League 2 matches so far this season, which is a solid campaign.
| Club | Matches | Goals | Assists |
| West Ham U18 | 12 | 9 | 0 |
| West Ham U21 | 30 | 8 | 3 |
Perhaps, he could make the step up to the London Stadium first team and make an impact there, but whether Nuno would risk that remains to be seen, given the implications of such a decision.
Why might Nuno be tempted to do it?
The Hammers need to do something to make sure that they get out of the relegation zone in the next few weeks, they will be a second-tier club next season.
The East London club occupy 18th place in the Premier League, the final relegation place, with nine matches to play in the campaign, a very precarious position.
They are level on points with Nottingham Forest, though, and need something to make the difference, which could be Landers and his youthful exuberance.
The Scotsman would bring the fearlessness and directness that comes with being a young player trying to forge his way into the manager’s plans, which could be a masterstroke from the Portuguese boss, as he tries to keep the Irons up.
Whether Nuno actually does it, and puts the academy star in at the deep end, it is probably unlikely, given the fact that if it goes wrong, his side will drop down to the Championship.
However, he may well be tempted given the former Hibernian gem’s latest showing in the Rush Green side’s youth ranks.
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