Graham Potter couldn’t contain his delight at the performance of West Ham academy star Ollie Scarles, who had a scintillating full Premier League debut against Arsenal.
Scarles’ inclusion was no last-minute roll of the dice either, with the player himself revealing that he’d been training with the starting eleven all week.
The 19-year-old replaced Emerson at left wing-back, and the Italian international must now be wondering if he’ll get his first-team shirt back, such was Scarles’ performance.
It looks like Emerson chose completely the wrong time to deliver a poor performance against Brentford. His involvement in the Bees’ winning goal was highly suspect as he failed to fully commit to a 50/50 header with Bryan Mbeumo.
Clearly, West Ham boss Potter was less than impressed, as he replaced Emerson with Scarles at half-time. The Bromley-born FA Youth Cup winner was a marked improvement in the second half of that game, and he continues to improve and impress.
Potter was clearly unimpressed with Emerson’s Brentford showing
Academy will be buzzing
Scarles has a real eye for tackling and interceptions, an underrated skill, and it likely won’t be long before he notches his first goal or assist. It should be noted that the young defender is no charity case either. Emerson has provided excellent value since his transfer from Chelsea but right now, Scarles is simply the better option.
With Juventus believed to be chasing Emerson in the summer, Scarles’ trajectory appears to be on the rise, breathing new life into West Ham’s Academy.
There now seems to be a direct pathway from the youth teams to Graham Potter’s squad, and the gaffer himself could not be more pleased:
“Ollie trains hard every day, but he’s a great person as well. He’s fully committed, loves the club, loves the team, and he wants to play for West Ham,” said Potter.
“He’s got a lot going for him, and his personality is really impressive. It’s a huge thank you to the Academy, really, because they’ve helped us by developing a top player!”.
