Featured in the Guardian’s popular yearly series Next Generation, journalists have tipped Airidas Golambeckis as one to watch, an impressive nod amid West Ham United's rich pool of Academy scholars. Fresh off the back of his first England goal at youth level, we sat down with Airidas to find out more about one of our rising talents...
Few players have made an impact on the West Ham United Academy in their first few months as a scholar quite like Airidas Golambeckis. At centre-half, the 16-year-old is leading the charge for the U18s in the scoring charts with five goals in nine games. An unlikely goalscorer at first, since netting a late equaliser against Brighton & Hove Albion in August, Golambeckis on the scoresheet has become almost routine. His indomitable presence at set pieces and overall goal threat have even extended to international duty, where he scored in just his third start for England U18s in a 3-1 victory over Ukraine U19s.
“Scoring for England is probably the highlight of my year. There’s been a lot, so it’s hard to pick, but this is probably it!” he remarked candidly. “In the first half, to be brutally honest, I was far from my best, not myself. But things like this happen in football, so it’s all about how you react. In the second half, I turned it up, communicated and made more runs. I remember it perfectly, 87th minute, set piece, I thought, ‘this is where I can show what I can do’. It went short, I saw he was putting it back post. I leapt quite high. After I scored, I was ecstatic. I knew Mum and Dad were in the crowd. It was a very special moment.”
Unsurprisingly, the Academy’s rising talent has always had a goalscoring instinct, having started out his football journey as a striker.
“When I started playing football at the age of five for my Sunday league team East Ham Rovers, I actually played up front!” he recalled with a smile.
Coaches who worked with him noticed his potential straight away. It would not be long before Golambeckis was on the West Ham books. Initially, honing his skills at the West Ham United Foundation’s football development schools in Beckton.
“I was brought over to Beckton having been recommended from playing at school,” he recalled. “I enjoyed my two years there and then moved up to Chadwell Heath once I was old enough to join the Under-9s. I remember it being a fairly long drive initially, especially after school, but once I came in, I loved it. I knew this was the Club I wanted to play for. When I was told I would be signing for the Academy, there’s just no feeling like it.”
Born and raised in the heart of east London, Golambeckis’ passion for the Claret and Blue runs deep. Rooted in Hammers tradition, for the budding centre-back, West Ham is synonymous with family.
He explained: “I’m a big West Ham supporter, my whole family is. We used to go to the games at Upton Park. My grandparents live just around the corner, so it was something we did as a family. Everyone loves West Ham in my family.
“Obviously to play for the Club my family and I support is massive for me. My whole family have played a huge role in getting me where I am right now. Mum and dad pushing me every day. Mum driving me to training after work. Dad also, being harsh on me, because he wants to get the best out of me. My brother has played a huge role as well, helping me out when I’m down, in the gym too.”
A great start to his youth career at West Ham, the only way is up for Golambeckis. Formalising his scholarship in June, following a season in which he featured regularly for the U18s and even made his debut for the U21s, the 16-year-old received his first Young Lions call up in September.
Though he had previously represented his parents’ native Lithuania at U16 level, debuting under former Rangers striker Andrius Velička, he did not hesitate at the chance to represent England when the call came in from U18s head coach Liam Bramley.
“Before I got the call-up, I was getting standbys so I knew I was getting closer and closer. I just needed to keep pushing myself and keep up the consistency. I was informed of the call up when I was laying on my bed. The email came to my mum, I heard her shouting in excitement downstairs and I thought, maybe this is it. She told me the news, and we were so excited and happy.”
Golambeckis’ first taste of international football for England came at the Lafarge Foot Avenir tournament in Limoges. Although he missed the first game, his fortunes soon turned, making his debut against Switzerland as well as starting against hosts France as England went undefeated.
“It was a very big day for me personally. I had missed the first game due to an injury so I was very upset. When I recovered, I got told I was starting the next game against Switzerland. I was very nervous in the tunnel. Seeing the venue, knowing my brother was there watching me, I just had to perform. It started to hit me when I heard the national anthem. I thought this is it. Playing for England, every kid wants to do this! I thought I played really well, and made a good impression.”
His impressive performances domestically and on the international stage have certainly caught the eye. For those not familiar with his game, Golambeckis is a passionate, dependable defender who is not afraid to take responsibility when his team are in need of a goal.
“Although I’ve been scoring a few goals, defending is the position for me. I have a real passion for defending. I think I read the game really well, on and off the ball. I’m starting to grow into more of a leadership role, developing my communication.
“I also love scoring goals, so any chance I get, like a set piece, I want to be in and amongst the action. We’ve got a great set piece coach here at West Ham, so I’ve been working hard with him to be able to score goals and help the team out.
Like every Academy player, Golambeckis dreams of representing the West Ham first team but, for now, he and his U18s teammates have their sights firmly set on a strong league season and the FA Youth Cup. Despite a slower-than-expected start to their league campaign, he remains confident they can replicate the success of the 2023 double-winning squad.
“With the staff and players that we have, I have no doubt that our fortunes will turn. Getting that first league win against Spurs was huge. I think we can still contend for the first positions in the league.
“On a personal level, I want to be more consistent, in training as well as in games. I want to score more goals because I know how clinical I can be in the box. Looking onwards, the goal is to get more minutes for the U21s and make a good impression if I get called to train with the first team. The FA Youth Cup is a very big goal for us, and I have huge belief in this squad, I think we have a chance to win it.”
