When Jarrod Bowen struck West Ham United's UEFA Europa Conference League winner on 7 June, Ryan Battrum was just one of many celebrating in the stands in Prague.
The newly-appointed youth-team captain was cheering alongside fellow FA Youth Cup winners Lewis Orford and George Earthy at Eden Arena. He was living the dream. Again.
Battrum’s first professional contract had been signed, the U18s had won the league and cup double, and now the senior side had lifted its first major European trophy since 1965.
A good year for the boyhood Hammer, then! “At 1-1, you were just thinking: this could go anywhere,” recalled Battrum, who scored in the U18s' 3-0 Premier League win over Fulham on Saturday. “When Jarrod scored, it was just pure relief. My emotions went through the roof!”
Such moments evoke a passion for the Club, which is quickly evident from a chat after training at Chadwell Heath. Battrum loves West Ham and has been at the Club since the age of five. It is clear he is immensely proud to have been named skipper for 2023/24.
“It’s great that Kev [Keen] has that trust in me, making me captain,” he enthused. “I have grown up supporting this Club all my life. It’s an honour for me.”
The armband is a vote of confidence in his work off the field as much as his work on it. Battrum admits his leadership is a quality he has sought to improve over the last year. He was once shy but now has developed the confidence to step up and speak more. To be named skipper is a testament to that. And to be chosen by a legend such as Kevin Keen, well ‘buzzing’, he says.
“He told me in a team meeting one day that I was going to be captain and I was smiling straight away,” he beamed. “Kev has been massive for our team over the past year and also in my development as a footballer and leader. He is what holds our team together.
“As a first year, you’re just trying to impress him and get on the side. Now, that I’m a second-year scholar, it is good that he trusts me.”
A call from Nobes
That trust has come from plenty in east London, though. Coaches throughout Chadwell Heath – from U7s to U18s – and not least Sporting Director Mark Noble, a player, Battrum admits, like many, he would love to emulate one day.
Towards the end of last season, he received a call from ’Nobes’. The sort of call you don’t want to miss!
“He called me up to offer me my pro contract,” he says, with a big smile. “I was about to leave Chadwell, and my phone started ringing. I couldn’t believe it!
“I told my Dad straight away, and he was over the moon. To sign a pro-contract that’s what I have been dreaming of and aiming towards since I was young. It was unreal.”
Alongside his Hammers family, the versatile 17-year-old later put pen to paper on his first professional contract at the home of the Academy of Football. A just reward for a season that saw Battrum make 26 appearances in all competitions for the U18s in a hugely successful campaign.
He also scored his first goal for the side in extra time of their 4-2 FA Youth Cup quarter-final win away to Ipswich Town. A left-footed finish, one that in terms of importance and style echoed Bowen’s strike in Prague.
A successful platform
Success from last year sets the platform for this campaign, though. For Battrum, the personal target is to make the step to U21s football and then, one day, a debut with the first team.
Like all at the Academy of Football, he is under no illusion of the dedication and graft needed to get there, of course. But as someone who has played in nearly every position on the pitch, he is used to that. Adapting to a challenge is what Battrum does, time, and time again.
A midfielder at U6s and U7s level. A centre-back by U12s. Hornchurch-born Battrum then played as a striker until U15s. He then moved back into midfield, before his first U18s cap came as a right wing-back.
This year, he started the 2023/24 season opener as a centre-half, so it is no surprise that the 17-year-old lands on ‘versatile’ when asked to describe his game. “Hard-working as well,” he added. “I like to think that I leave it all out on the pitch.”
It’s clear that Battrum does that. His mindset and talent make him an excellent captain for 2023/24. But already, he is focused on what comes next.
“You’ve got to keep looking at the next step,” he stated. ”It was getting the Scholarship, then my pro-contract. Now, I want to play for the U21s and then hopefully the first team. That night in Prague was really good! Just winning that was unreal. One day, I would love to play in a match like that.”
Battrum has set his task, then. The U18s skipper, proud to play in Claret and Blue since the age of five, is dreaming of the first team.
