‘You just have to’: West Ham talent shares what he told teammate at half-time

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West Ham academy prospect Kamarai Swyer has told WHUFC.com of how he encouraged Sonny Perkins on his full U23s debut, as opportunities to progress further are available.

Perkins made his first start in Dmitri Halajko’s development side as the Irons beat Crystal Palace on Friday. The appearance followed maiden outings from the bench against Ipswich and Derby, against whom the England U18 international scored.

He could now make his second start when the Hammers visit Colchester in the Papa John’s Trophy on Tuesday night. The 17-year-old was a regular part of Kevin Keen’s U18s before making the step-up to Halajko’s ranks earlier this month.

Swyer has shared how Perkins instantly felt the increased intensity in West Ham’s win over Crystal Palace’s junior side. But encouraged the midfielder to push through the pain.

“It’s definitely a big leap up!” Swyer said. “Sonny was even saying to me at half-time how much he was aching and stuff. But I was saying: ‘That’s exactly how I was feeling when I first came up, but you’ll get used to it. You just have to keep pushing’.

“There are countless opportunities here at West Ham and the doors are open, so you just have to step through them.”

Homegrown Perkins set for big future at West Ham?

Perkins did not deliver the same sort of impact against Crystal Palace as the West Ham talent produced against Derby. But pushing on through the pain after Swyer’s half-time words of wisdom still saw Perkins show glimpses of his potential.

The Irons talent drifted between the Eagles defenders in second-half stoppage-time, but found the crossbar with his finessed effort. He had already forced saves with a stinging low drive and a shot on the turn. Taking the ball and spinning towards the goal to win a corner.

Further chances just skimmed past the midfielder, who has taken up more centralised roles at times this season. Finding that missing yard or touch will help Perkins seize the chances Swyer notes are on offer at West Ham.