Nathan Holland must be wondering what he has to do to earn a call-up to the West Ham first-team. Manuel Pellegrini has once again left him out of the matchday squad, reliable insider EXWHUEmployee has told fans.
Pellegrini has taken a squad of 19 players to Wales for the EFL Cup clash with Newport County. He will make some changes to the team that beat Watford and a few youngsters are in the squad.
Albian Ajeti, Conor Coventry and Ben Johnson have all travelled. But there is no space in the squad for Holland. The ex-Everton winger has been in sensational form for the U23 team again this year but he continues to be overlooked.
Nathan Holland needs a loan if he is not playing
Holland should have been given a first-team chance last season. He returned from a long-term injury to score twice and provide eight assists in 11 Premier League 2 games. When West Ham had dead-rubber games at the end of last season, Holland should have been given some minutes.
But the closest that Holland got to a first-team outing was a spot on the bench at Old Trafford. His form this season has been exciting and he should have been used in pre-season. But Pellegrini snubbed him when selecting his squad to travel to China.
Pellegrini also rejected the chance to give Holland some minutes in pre-season friendlies in Austria. Why not run the rule over Holland in pre-season? Now, he has been left out of the cup game which could have been his chance to show Pellegrini he was ready for a Grady Diangana-style rise to the senior side.
If Pellegrini does not want to play the 21-year-old at any point this season, he needs a loan spell. Youth football has become too easy for Holland and the next challenge will be showing West Ham’s hierarchy that he can compete in senior football.
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