After nine months on the sidelines, FA Youth Cup winner Regan Clayton made his long-awaited return from a serious knee injury on Friday 17 January, coming on in the final ten minutes to help his West Ham United U21s teammates see out a 1-0 victory over Sunderland in Premier League 2.
"It’s what I’ve been working towards this whole time," he said. "I woke up the morning of the game feeling a bit nervous because I hadn’t done this in a while! It turned into excitement throughout the day. Sitting on the bench, I was so eager so when Robbo [Mark Robson] said ‘you’re coming on’, I was like, ‘right, let’s do this!’.
"I thought I did well. I just wanted to go on and show all the work I’ve been doing behind the scenes that no one’s really seen. I made some nice passes down the line, and tried to get the boys up the pitch and support the team to see the game out. It's so good to be back!"
The 20-year-old certainly did not look out of place, confidently diving into tackles, commanding his team with captain-like presence, as if he had never been away.
Hailing from a family that lives and breathes West Ham United, Clayton is now marking his tenth year at the Club, a decade after being scouted at a WHU Foundation Holiday Hammers camp.
With over 100 development games under his belt, hardly a surprise since he broke into the U18s at 15 years old, injuries had never been an issue Regan had had to dwell on. A remarkable 2022/23 season which saw the young full-back play just shy of 50 games, including every single minute of the FA Youth Cup-winning campaign, as well as making two matchday squads during the senior team’s UEFA Europa Conference League winning adventure, Clayton’s progress was firmly on an upward trajectory toward first-team contention.
“I was gutted I didn’t get on to make my debut but it was surreal being in that first-team environment,” he recalled. “Going on the plane, being abroad, seeing how it all operates was incredible. Then, to do it with the coaches and the lads, was great. It makes you think, ‘I want to do this every week’.”
While juggling first-team commitments, Regan and his teammates also had their own goals to achieve at youth level. Mainly playing up a level with the U21s, featuring in all but one of their Premier League 2 and EFL Trophy fixtures, he seamlessly stepped back into the U18s when needed, winning all the games he played in as the young Hammers clinched a historic Premier League South and FA Youth Cup double.
He continued: “That cup run was mad. The first two times I played that competition, we went out in either our first game or the first few rounds. We had such a good team that year, we were coasting past teams and you’re thinking ‘we could do it this year’. The experience in the final was unreal, 10,000 West Ham fans screaming West Ham chants. It gives you a proper boost. It sounds cliché, the 12th man, but it’s true. To do it with my mates, many of whom I’ve been playing with since the age of ten, indescribable.”
The then 18-year-old was well on track to continuing his push towards the first-team fold. However, a hamstring tear during the off-season would foreshadow a challenging 2023/24 with more setbacks than progress.
Clayton said: “Coming into that season I was feeling unstoppable, I was thinking, ‘this is my year, I’m going to push now’. I then tore my hamstring in pre-season, which ruled me out for over two months. When I was back to full fitness, I couldn’t get in the team. I was training well but the boys were flying in every competition.”
The U21s went on a 16-game unbeaten run as they cruised through the EFL Trophy and Premier League International Cup group stages and competed for top spot in the Premier League 2 regular season with Tottenham Hotspur. Clayton would eventually break back into the starting XI in March in a run of games which he describes as ‘the best football I’ve ever played’. But his resurgence was heartbreakingly cut short during stoppage time in the Premier League International Cup semi-final against PSV Eindhoven, suffering a serious knee injury which would rule him out for almost a year.
He said: “I’d gone in for a 50-50 and my knee just went. I knew straight away because the pain was out of this world. Rehab has been tough, but the physios, the strength and conditioning team, and everyone at the Club have been brilliant. I’ve worked hard for nine months, and now I’m feeling ready.”
With his first professional deal set to expire that summer, the injury could not have come at a worse time. Countless hours in the gym and a determined attitude during his rehab paid off, with Clayton renewing his contract, keeping him at the Club until the summer of 2026.
He said: “The club were really good with me, being really supportive during my injury. Getting the new contract was a huge boost, knowing I can take my time, focus on myself and get back at the right time.”
That time is now. Itching to get back on the pitch, Clayton came on in the 82nd minute in the development side’s 1-0 victory against Sunderland to a warm ovation from the Rush Green Stadium crowd.
He added: “I’ve been so zoned in on my rehab that being back in and around a matchday squad felt weird! I feel better than I was before. All my physical testing has gone through the roof. Now it’s about getting my match sharpness because there’s nothing that can really replicate that. I felt really good when I came on against Sunderland and can’t wait to push on again!”
