Ollie Scarles is a tremendously gifted young talent, and West Ham boss David Moyes may well have big plans for him in the future.
West Ham left-back Ollie Scarles, 17, burst onto the scene last season with a superb performance against FCSB in the Europa Conference League in November 2022.
Joe Cole described Scarles as ‘outstanding’ when speaking on BT Sport after the Hammers beat FCSB 3-0.
And he was spot on. For someone so young (he was just 16 at the time), the youngster performed with so much grace, quality and maturity.
I believe that Moyes may well have grand plans for Scarles…
Ollie Scarles could save West Ham millions, explains David Moyes’ £20m transfer decision
The Hammers starlet actually began his youth career as a central midfielder, but he has been developing as a left wing-back over the past year or so, and what a player he is.
During the summer transfer window, West Ham were being heavily linked with a new left-back with Aaron Cresswell tipped for an exit from the London Stadium.
Emerson Palmieri desperately needed more quality competition and cover, and Chelsea ace Ian Maatsen was believed to be a £20 million transfer target for the Hammers.
Cresswell ended up staying in East London though, and Moyes failed to follow up his initial interest in the 21-year-old Chelsea left-back.
I believe the real reason for that might have been that we have Scarles coming through the ranks though. Cresswell’s time at the highest level of the game has clearly come to an end. Now it could be Scarles’ chance to come through and show us all what he’s capable of.
I’m not suggesting that he’ll be starting games in the Premier League this season but I certainly expect him to feature in the early rounds of the domestic cup competitions.
He has everything needed to be a top-class left wing-back for West Ham. He has incredible amount of energy, stamina, pace and power. Oh, and he’s really gifted from a technical perspective as well – the total package you might say.
Ollie Scarles has it all, and he may well be the main reason why David Moyes didn’t bring a top-class left-back to the London Stadium in the summer transfer window.
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