Sam Byram came on as an early substitute for Arsenal-owned Carl Jenkinson against Manchester City at the weekend.
Sam Byram probably did not expect to play against Manchester City so soon after joining West Ham United from Leeds United.
The 22-year-old, who can play as a right-back or as a right-winger, was part of the Hammers’ matchday squad for the Premier League game at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday evening.
An injury to Carl Jenkinson in the 13th minute forced manager Slaven Bilic to throw Byram into action, and the former Leeds youngster did not disappoint.
The youngster took to the Premier League game like a duck to water and held his own against the likes of Sergio Aguero and David Silva among others.
| Position | Team | Total Cross | Accurate Cross | Total Pass | Accurate Pass | Touches | Total Tackles | Tackles Won | Interception | Appearances | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Byram | DF | West Ham | 2 | 1 | 31 | 23 | 45 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 77 |
Stats do not always tell the whole story, but the figures posted above suggest that Byram had a debut to remember.
With Jenkinson now on the sidelines, the former Leeds man will get good playing time in the coming weeks.
Jenkinson is on loan from Arsenal and is scheduled to return to the North London outfit at the end of the season.
The 23-year-old England international right-back has done well for the Hammers since the start of last season, but in Byram the London outfit have an upgrade.
Not only is Byram younger (Jenkinson turns 24 next month), but he has also got more potential and has more to prove after playing Championship football for almost his entire career so far.
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