After enjoying one of the most successful seasons in the club’s recent history in becoming Europa Conference League champions, West Ham United followed up with an action-packed summer transfer window.
Club captain Declan Rice left to join Arsenal in a record-breaking £105m move, which allowed the Hammers to reinvest heavily in their squad, bringing in the likes of Mohammed Kudus, Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse among others.
While several new incomings were brought in, we have also seen West Ham in recent years begin to capitalise on the talent being nurtured in the academy, with the goal of producing a future star.
Who is in West Ham’s academy?
The most notable name to have graduated from the setup more recently would have to be the now-departed Declan Rice.
Rice, who was originally part of the Chelsea academy, joined West Ham at the age of 14 after being released from their London rivals. The England international would spend ten years at the club and of course captained the side in their victorious European run last season, winning their first major trophy since 1980.
Despite the 24-year-old’s absence, by no means does it rule out any more talent being able to make a name for themselves by following a similar route into the first team.
In their trip to Bucharest for the final group game of the Europa Conference League last season, manager David Moyes selected a young side with top spot in the group already guaranteed, giving players the opportunity to impress.
Of those youthful starters, one of which was 18-year-old prospect Divin Mubama.
The young forward marked his debut by assisting his first goal for the club in a comfortable 3-0 win.
After continuing to impress in the Premier League 2, Mubama would make his Premier League debut in the closing stages of West Ham’s defeat to Arsenal towards the end of 2022.
Another brief cameo in the FA Cup in early 2023 had fans impressed, and the teenager was rewarded with another start shortly after in the 2nd leg of the round of 16 stage in the Europa Conference League, against Cypriot side AEK Larnaca.
Moyes’ faith in the youngster paid off, with Mubama scoring his first senior goal for the club and West Ham’s fourth on the night, as they progressed to the quarter-finals in a 6-0 aggregate win.
While it may seem as though Mubama is head and shoulders above the rest of his competition at youth level, there is currently another gifted centre-forward making headlines in West Ham’s current youth setup.
Northern Ireland’s Callum Marshall.
Who is Callum Marshall?
The promising forward joined the Hammers U18s in January 2022 from Northern Ireland outfit Linfield, and has impressed in multiple teams at youth level in the time since.
In terms of his performances, the majority of his appearances so far have come in the U18 Premier League, where Marshall has played 32 times over the last two seasons, scoring 25 goals and assisting four.
He has also had his chances in the U23’s side as well, playing in the Premier League 2 14 times and scoring on six occasions.
On the international stage, the 18-year-old has played for both Northern Ireland's U18 and U19 teams, scoring once.
Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take long for Marshall to catch the eye of fans on social media.
Only a matter of months after his arrival at the club, his standout performances in the U18’s side, particularly after a winning goal against Brighton, gained plenty of praise.
Journalist Josh Bunting, for example, took to Twitter to write: “Callum Marshall is flying with West Ham under 18’s, what an impact he’s made in east London.”
With no doubt that West Ham have two incredibly talented centre-forwards on their hands, some may argue that only one will be able to win the battle for a future place in the first team, but that might not be the case.
How do Mubama and Marshall compare?
The 2022/23 FA Youth Cup saw West Ham lift the coveted trophy for the first time since 1999, and both players played a major role in the run to do so.
In Marshall’s six appearances, he scored four goals and assisted one, with an average of one goal contribution every 103 minutes.
Mubama on the other hand made five appearances and scored an incredible eight goals, including an unstoppable hat-trick in the 6-1 semi-final win against Southampton and would end the tournament as the top scorer.
The two players’ equally impressive contributions to the U18’s cup success highlights their ability to be able to play alongside each other, rather than leaving the manager with the difficult choice of whom to pick.
While Mubama is more of an out-and-out centre-forward, Marshall is also capable of performing on either side of the attack, which is always a benefit to have with a forward as seen with so many examples in modern football, with Kylian Mbappe perhaps being the most notable.
In all competitions for West Ham, Marshall does have the slightest of edges in terms of goals per game, with 0.64 – compared to Mubama’s 0.6.
Goals
Assists
Goals
Assists
Premier League 2
14
2
6
1
U18 Premier League
30
4
25
4
FA Youth Cup
10
1
4
1
What does the future hold for Marshall?
Despite having yet made his first senior appearance for the club, it would not be a surprise to see Moyes slowly integrate the Northern Irish gem into the first team on occasions this year, as seen with Mubama the previous year.
Following the Europa Conference League success of last year, the Hammers will notice a jump in quality as they compete in this year’s Europa League, although the experience won’t be too new to Moyes and his side, who went all the way to the semi-finals in their previous appearance in the competition in the 2021/22 season.
Perhaps the earlier stages of the domestic trophies could prove to be an opportunity for Marshall to get his chance, though even if it may be deemed too soon for the 18-year-old, his position at the East London side will be one to watch in the upcoming seasons.