West Ham United’s Academy players conclude their preparations for the new campaign with a pre-season match at Canvey Island on Wednesday night.
With the Under-18s beginning their Barclays U18 Premier League season at Fulham on Saturday and the Under-21s at West Bromwich Albion a week on Monday, Wednesday’s trip to the south Essex coast gives Academy Manager and Head of Coaching & Player Development Terry Westley another opportunity to run the rule over his players.
The Gulls, who will compete in the Ryman Premier League this season, count former Hammers Academy goalkeeper Jake Larkins amongst their number and are anticipating a healthy crowd for the game, which kicks-off at 7.45pm.
Westley is looking forward to the test. He told whufc.com: “This game gives us another opportunity to play against a men’s team, which is invaluable experience for them.
“It’s the last game before the start of the season for the U18s and it will allow the likes of Oscar Borg, Marcus Browne, Matt Carter and Tunji Akinola to play in an U21s game.
“The players will always get something from it, and there will always be someone making a judgement from it, so I’m looking forward to seeing how we take the challenge as a group.
“In terms of the Academy, we’ve had an excellent pre-season with many of the players making an impact with the first team. Martin Samuelsen has bedded in well as a new signing and Reece Oxford has worked his way into a really good situation playing in the European games and again last Sunday.”
whufc.com will be on hand at The Prospects Stadium so stay tuned for updates on Wednesday night.