Surprise Ollie Scarles twist during West Ham under-21s defeat to Newport County went unnoticed

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West Ham United’s under-21s took on Newport Country in the EFL Trophy last night, and we noticed a surprise Ollie Scarles twist.

Ollie Scarles has been a key feature for the under-21s over the past two years, and he’s clearly one of the most talented teenagers we have at West Ham right now.

West Ham youngster Ollie Scarles has already proven just how good he is when training with the first-team this season, and the sky really is the limit for the 18-year-old.

The talented teenager recently put pen to paper on a new long-term deal that will keep him at the London Stadium for years to come.

Julen Lopetegui will undoubtedly be delighted to have a youngster with Scarles’ talent amongst his ranks.

I fully expect that we will see Scarles play some minutes for the first-team this season.

And I noticed something very interesting during the under-21s’ defeat to Newport Country last night.

Ollie Scarles twist during West Ham under-21s defeat to Newport

We all know just how talented Scarles is. He is clearly elite, and has every chance of making it at the very highest level.

I believe that the 18-year-old will be Emerson Palmieri’s long-term replacement at left-back.

However, something interesting happened last night during our clash with Newport Country.

Scarles played in central midfield for Mark Robson’s side, and he really impressed.

Now, we all know that he can play there, but he has exclusively been used as a left-back or a wing-back over the past 12 months.

So could Robson’s decision to start the teenager in the engine room have filtered down from the very top?

Perhaps Lopetegui views Scarles as a central midfielder in the long-term, and wanted to get a look at him playing there last night.

It wouldn’t surprise me, the youngster has all of the attributes required to play in the middle of the park, especially after he recently admitted that he has been bulking up in order to improve his physicality.

Ollie Scarles is the future for West Ham

The 18-year-old is the latest in a long line of incredible talents to have come through the ranks at West Ham, following the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick, Mark Noble and Declan Rice.

Julen Lopetegui took Scarles out to America for the club’s pre-season tour of Florida, so the Hammers chief clearly has high hopes for the teenager.

When he made his first-team debut for the Hammers when he was just 16 in 2022, he looked incredibly good, and more than comfortable playing against senior pros

The 18-year-old is a really special young player, and the teenager proved last night that he has more than one string to his bow.

His technical ability is off the charts, and he has the in-game intelligence needed to succeed at the highest level as well, either at left-back or in central midfield.

He looks like far more of a physical specimen nowadays as well, thanks to his training programme in the summer.

The 18-year-old is a star in the making, and in my opinion, he’s the real reason why Julen Lopetegui didn’t sign a left-back in the summer.

However, after the under-21s defeat to Newport County last night, Lopetegui may well have plans to play Ollie Scarles in central midfield as well.