Earlier today, the Guardian released their popular Next Generation list, where West Ham wonderkid Lewis Orford was praised heavily.
West Ham have a gem in Lewis Orford
Well, the east Londoners are famed for producing some of the best players the Premier League has ever seen.
West Ham developed the likes of Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard, with Orford even earning a comparison to the latter.
The Guardian state that West Ham’s 16-year-old prodigy has a bit of Lampard about him, in the way that he arrives late in the box to finish off chances.
It is also said that Orford shares similarities to Carrick and Declan Rice in terms of physique, although he has a bit more pace to him.
The England Under-16 international has already scored four goals in four Under-18 Premier League appearances this season, while also providing one assist.
Impressively, one of Orford’s strikes came directly from a corner – his proficiency from dead ball situations is highlighted by the Guardian as a strong point.
In total, he has scored seven goals and provided ten assists in 31 appearances for the West Ham Under-18 side, which is mightily impressive seeing as he is just 16.
Lewis Orford must stay at West Ham
In our view, Orford must stay at the London Stadium if he is to fulfil his potential.
As David Moyes has shown in his development of Rice and Ben Johnson, he is not afraid to play youngsters if he feels they are good enough.
Additionally, after West Ham secured European football in back-to-back campaigns, Orford is in a good environment to thrive at a club clearly on the up.
However, we recently witnessed West Ham lose their best prospect Sonny Perkins to Leeds – potentially because he became disillusioned in east London – so the Hammers must ensure they keep their best youngsters engaged.
Hopefully, Orford fulfils his potential at West Ham, and follows in the footsteps of Carrick, Cole and Lampard.
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