West Ham United have already got one flying left-sider with an almighty cross in his locker, in the shape of £19 million summer signing El Hadji Malick Diouf.
But behind the scenes, in the always prosperous Hammers academy, there is another jet-heeled wideman who is racking up his fair share of goal contributions too.
Whether Emeka Adiele can develop as rapidly as Malick Diouf, only time will tell. But with four goals and seven assists across just 15 appearances for West Ham United’s Under-21s this season, the buccaneering 18-year-old is fast becoming one of the most exciting, if somewhat under-the-radar, talents among this next generation of up-and-comers.
Adiele should be enthused, too, by the fact that Nuno Espirito Santo is keeping a very close eye on the current crop of teenage talents.
Airidas Golambeckis and Ezra Mayers have trained with the West Ham first-team of late, alongside Mohamadou Kante and goalkeeper Finlay Herrick.
Adiele made the trip to Germany in pre-season, too, alongside Graham Potter’s first-team. And though the England Under-18 international seems to be ever-so-slightly behind the likes of Golambeckis and Kante when it comes to his development, the progress he has made in recent months suggests it is only a matter of time before he too is coming up against Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta at Rush Green.
Emeka Adiele can follow in Declan Rice’s footsteps with West Ham United award
Following a stellar November, Adiele has been nominated for the Premier League 2 Player of the Month award.
Lewis Orford won the prize in May, fighting off competition from ex-Hammers starlet Divin Mubama. If Adiele picks up the gong, it will mean that the award has been given to a claret-and-blue kid for the second time in the last five months.
Which West Ham youngster are you most EXCITED about and why? 🌱
And who is the club's best-ever academy graduate?
“I feel like I’ve definitely improved since signing my pro contract,” Adiele said recently. “There’s still plenty of room for improvement, so I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing.
“Training well, playing well, and hopefully I’ll get more opportunities.”
“The call-up [in pre-season] was actually a bit of a surprise,” he added. “But it was a great experience, learning from the older players, seeing how I can improve my game, seeing the difference in level and what it takes to actually be there.
“It was just nice to go along and train with them.”
Adiele has had a ‘real big impact’ in the EFL Trophy and National League Trophy
While a regular source of goals and assists at youth level, the teenager is proving himself to be more than capable of game-changing contributions against professional opposition as well.
On a day when Preston Fearon and Callum Marshall both hit braces, Adiele set up two of West Ham’s five goals in an EFL Trophy thumping of MK Dons. He also scored a brace against Sutton United in the National League Trophy.
“He had a real big impact on the game,” Greg Lincoln, West Ham’s interim Under-21 head coach, said after that 3-3 thriller with Sutton. “If he’d finished off that run late on, it would have been a great hat-trick!
“He was equally impressive with his defensive work. He’s got real ability and high potential. It’s our job to keep challenging and nurturing those qualities to help push him to the next level.
“There was some really good stuff to take away from today, certainly.”
How far can Malick Diouf go? And what does he need to do to become a world-class left-back?
Rice, Callum Marshall and Lewis Orford were all Premie League 2 Player of the Month winners
In addition to Orford, other West Ham youngsters to pick up the Premier League 2 Player of the Month award include Callum Marshall, Mipo Odubeko, Anthony Scully and, of course, Declan Rice all the way back in 2017/18.
Now at third-tier Leyton Orient, Sonny Perkins beat Cole Palmer, Alejandro Garnacho and the now-£30 million West Ham forward Crysencio Summerville to the prize in April 2022.
Only time will tell whether Adiele will go on to enjoy the same success as Palmer, Garnacho, Summerville and Rice.
Failing that, the likes of Scully and Perkins have enjoyed solid careers in the Football League after falling short of the elite.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
