The ‘phenomenal’ Dan Chesters was more than deserving of a first-team debut at Premier League high-flyers West Ham United, U23 coach Dmitri Halajko told the club’s official website.
It was a night Chesters – not to mention the 45,000 supporters soaking up the sights and the sounds at a joyous London Stadium – will not forget in a hurry.
A crushing 3-0 victory over a talented KRC Genk side in the Europa League group-stages mean West Ham are almost certain to be playing continental football the other side of New Year.
And a first-ever senior appearance for a 19-year-old academy graduate was the cherry on top of what was one of the club’s finest ever European evenings.
Chesters was handed a brief cameo off the bench against Genk – much to the delight of a coach who has watched him develop at a rapid rate at youth-team level.
Can Dan Chesters force his way into David Moyes’ plans?
“Dan deserves it. He’s been in really good form this year. His work rate is phenomenal and he’s starting to affect each game more and more,” Halajko said of a technically-gifted attacking midfielder who enrolled in West Ham’s fabled academy at the age of just eight.
“He’s such a threat at the moment and I wasn’t surprised that the first-team manager (David Moyes) put him on, because that shows how well he’s doing.
“He’s going to continue to get better, and I think the others will continue to get better – hopefully there are more debuts and minutes in the first-team picture for them, because I think there’s some real talent in our team who can make that next step.
“Hopefully, that’ll happen for them soon.”
Given that the likes of Ben Johnson, Harrison Ashby, Dapo Afolayan, Emmanuel Longelo and Ajibola Alese have also been afforded opportunities during Moyes’ second spell in East London, Chesters is unlikely to be the only homegrown teenager who makes his presence felt during West Ham’s first ever Europa League campaign.
Chesters was back in action as a free-scoring Hammers U23 side battered Manchester United 6-0 on Saturday, shortly after the U18s had put five past Aston Villa.
The future’s bright, to say the least.
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