George Earthy is raring to go for the 2024/25 campaign after enjoying an outstanding end to the last season.
The 19-year-old Academy graduate scored his first senior goal in the final home match of 2023/24, coming off the bench to net in our 3-1 victory over Luton Town, before going on to represent England Under-20s for the first time, earning two caps in summer internationals against Sweden and Republic of Ireland.
So, after enjoying a few weeks of downtime following that whirlwind period, Earthy is now more than ready to return to Rush Green and get to work under new head coach Julen Lopetegui.
Earthy was part of the group which reported back for pre-season on Wednesday, undergoing a series of fitness tests before hitting the pitches for the first time, and he enjoyed lacing his boots up once again.
"It was a short but sweet summer," he explained. "Obviously we broke up for the summer and I was away for ten days with England and that was a good experience there during the off season.
"Then I had quick, short break after in Portugal. I went for a couple of days with my family, spent some nice time in the sun and now we're back to working. I can't wait to start the season now."
Having had that taste of first team action at the back end of last season, making four senior appearances in all competitions, the Havering-born midfielder is eager to build on that experience.
He views the upcoming weeks as vital, both for the team's preparation and his own ambitions in making his mark at the senior level.
"You know the level you have to be at, and you see it around in all the players," he continued.
"That's why the off season is so important, to build yourself back up for the pre-season at such a high level. It's amazing to see all the testing and all that that goes on at pre-season now, but yes, it's very high level, so have to try and maintain that.
"You have to sort of look after yourself - and that means a couple of weeks of just planning and working hard just to kind of get yourself back up to that level before you even come back. So, yeah, buzzing to be back here now."
A new season brings change in more ways than one for Earthy, as he will now be working under a new head coach in the form of Lopetegui.
The Mark Noble Young Hammer of the Year winner is relishing the opportunity of showing what he can do.
"It's been good to meet all of the coaches," he confirmed. "It's good to see [the head coach] around the building and see them on the training pitch - how they work differently to other managers.
"It's really exciting times at West Ham to work with the new manager, the new staff, meet them all, see how they work and what we can do differently as a team."
