West Ham United have some brilliant young players but they are rarely used.
In a recent interview with the club’s official website, West Ham United winger Nathan Holland praised his manager Slaven Bilic, so could his comments give hope to some of the Hammers’ other overlooked youngsters?
“I am training with the first-team a lot and the gaffer has shown his faith in me; I can see that he believes in me,” Holland said.
So is the much anticipated dawn of a new era at the London Stadium just around the corner, or will Holland and his fellow U23 players have to wait even longer, despite some of their vastly experienced teammates under-performing in recent times?
Holland is one of West Ham’s brightest young things, yet he is far from the only one, with Toni Martinez, Domingos Quina and Martin Samuelsen among those hoping to get first-team chances sooner rather than later.
Quina has had a few minutes here and there, despite being the youngest of the bunch, but for the most part Bilic has seemed reluctant to put his faith in youth, with Reece Oxford’s latest loan move to Borussia Monchengladbach once such example.
Holland obviously has his manager’s ear and feels confident that his time will come. The problem has been that while some clubs are quick to put faith in the players they know have star potential, West Ham have held back.
Oxford proved his worth when he was only 16, while Martinez and Holland have long since outgrown the Hammers’ under-23s.
Bilic may believe in his young prospects, but he is yet to really show it.
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