Bernardo Rosa has been tipped to force his way into the West Ham United squad after signing a new two-year contract on Monday, with U23 coach Dimitri Hajalko hailing the ‘consistency’ of the Brazilian schemer.
While Declan Rice is one of the few players to graduate with flying colours from one of English football’s most feted academies in recent years, the Hammers suddenly appear to have a treasure trove of young talent at their disposal.
Rosa is one of many fresh-faced prospects who have signed on the dotted line this month, following in the footsteps of Dan Chesters, Will Greenidge and goalkeeper Daniel Jinadu.
With even top-flight clubs expected to keep their powder dry in the transfer market, West Ham may be about to give youth a chance in the months to come.
A quick-footed and intelligent attacking midfielder in the Manuel Lanzini mould, Rosa has produced four assists in 17 Premier League 2 games this season.
And while a first-team debut might be out of his reach for now, with West Ham’s focus solely on securing their Premier League status, Hajalko believes the future looks bright for this 19-year-old talent.
“This is really positive news for the Academy and Bernardo as an individual. He’s worked extremely hard to win this contract,” Hajalko says of Rosa, who was included in the matchday squad during West Ham’s clash with Sheffield United in January.
“His versatility, consistency and robustness have both been really impressive this season. He’s played more minutes on the pitch than anybody else in the U23s.
“Bernardo is a player who’s comfortable on the ball and, whether he’s playing in midfield or at full-back, he likes to get forward and score and assist goals. He’s also not shy of working hard for the team.
“He’s a really good all-round individual who covers a lot of areas important for a modern-day player.
“Now, he needs to carry on working hard and developing if he’s going to have a chance of making that first bench appearance improve into his West Ham United debut.”
Rosa is certainly aware of the need to hone his talents further under the highly-regarded Hajalko, admitting that his ‘personal goal’ is to establish himself as a first-team regular at the London Stadium.
He’s certainly going about things in the right way so far.
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