Nathan Holland has been hotly tipped to be the next big thing at West Ham United.
Former Hammers player turned youth coach Collison has been overseeing the development of players in West Ham’s famed Academy.
After a barren decade, West Ham fans have seen the emergence of some talented players from the youth system under Manuel Pellegrini.
‘Nathan Holland is the next one’
Declan Rice, Grady Diangana and Ben Johnson are three of seven young players to have featured in the first team this season.
Collison firmly believes the next player to make the breakthrough will be highly-rated star Nathan Holland.
“Nathan Holland for me is probably the next one,” Collison told Gabby Logan on The Premier League Show.
“He’s an exciting player, gets your bum off your seat, the sort of player that the West Ham fans love and come to watch.”
Holland signs new deal
Pellegrini clearly agrees after Holland was handed a new deal until 2023 (whufc.com).
And 20-year-old Holland have revealed the Hammers boss regularly speaks to him about his development.
“The boss is brilliant,” Holland told whufc.com.
“He wants you to enjoy the ball, look after it, but also express yourself. That’s what you want as a young player. You want to be able to go out there with no fear, just doing what you want to do, and he asks you to do just that.
‘The boss likes it when I go quick’
“The boss likes it when I go quick 1v1 and he gives me confidence and really believes in me to do that. I just try to show that.
“I think I quickly adapted to his style of play and I think I’ve come on as a player a lot this year. Hopefully I can continue to do that.”
If he does Pellegrini has proved he is willing to give the youth a chance.
And it could well save the Hammers a pretty penny in the transfer market.
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