West Ham United have suffered relegation before – twice previously in the Premier League era – and come back stronger.
After Alan Pardew took the Hammers back up at the second attempt, a top-half finish would follow, not to mention a heroic run to the FA Cup final. And following Ricardo Vaz Te’s Wembley heroics in 2012, West Ham United would enjoy 14 unbroken years of first division football, climbing as high as the Europa League positions.
In a sense, club legends such as Mark Noble, Julian Dicks and Steve Potts benefitted from relegation; stepping up and out of the shadows following the departures of more senior stars.
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In the modern day, Mohamadou Kante will fancy his chances of replacing Mateus Fernandes over the coming months. Ezra Mayers, Freddie Potts and Callum Marshall will hope to use relegation as a means of cementing themselves as first-team regulars, too.
Mark Robson – back coaching the Under-21s after Nuno reunited with long-time assistant Rui Pedro Silva a couple of weeks ago – certainly feels that the 2026/27 campaign could act as a breakout season for Josh Ajala and the next generation of academy talents.
Josh Ajala among the West Ham United kids who could step up
“I’m delighted to be back working with the U21s,” Robson said, returning to his old role after a spell in the first-team dugout.
“It’s been great to get back out on the grass and coach again in these first couple of weeks, and I’m really excited about the challenges that lay ahead in the coming weeks and months.
“I’m delighted that [fellow coaches] Steve [Potts], Gerard [Prenderville] and Billy [Lepine] have stayed with the first team. It’s brilliant to see that there’s progression there for our coaches, as well as the players, and they deserve it because they’ve all put in several years of top service.
“I think right now the link between the Academy and the first team is as strong as it’s ever been, which is really exciting. There are obviously a few of us who have worked across the set-ups, and that bond is there.
“There are a lot of younger players training with the first team in pre-season now, and I’m really confident a number of them can play big roles in the Championship.”
Ajala and Airidas Golambeckis were pictured in action as West Ham defeated Colchester United 3-2 in a behind-closed-doors, Rush Green friendly this week.
Neither the forward nor the centre-back have made a senior appearance yet. That may change sooner rather than later, though.
Ajala and Golambeckis – the latter a regular in matchday squads under Nuno Espirito Santo – were presumably at the forefront of Robson’s mind when he predicted that a handful of fresh-faced prospects will ‘play big roles in the Championship’ next term.
Daniel Cummings, Ryan Battrum and Gabriel Caliste featured prominently in pictures provided by West Ham’s official website on Thursday. Following some impressive performances at youth level – ex-Celtic kid Cummings ended last term in prolific fashion – first-team opportunities could also beckon here, not to mention for Preston Fearon, Reagan Clayton and Josh Landers.
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Fejokwu leaves for Club Brugge…
West Ham officially start the Championship season at Burnley on August 16th. An EFL Cup first-round tie against Portsmouth a week prior, though, could see a number of debuts handed out. Especially with new signings few and far between.
“For us, the big aim is to get players over to the first-team,” adds Robson. “We did that last season [Mayers, Kante, Marshall and Finlay Herrick made their debuts] and we want more of that this time around, while at the same time helping to develop the boys in all departments.
“As well as the playing side of things, we’ll work on the physical, mental and psychological sides, to try and help our lads grow into good players and good human beings.”
While giving hope to the class of 2026, Robson’s belief in the first-team pathway feels like a bullish response to a series of academy exits, even if actions do speak louder than words.
Centre-back Emmanuel Fejokwu left West Ham for Club Brugge this month. Clearly, he is not alone in feeling his development was better served elsewhere.
Then again, when looking at the struggles of Divin Mubama, Sonny Perkins, Jamal Baptiste and co away from East London, the phrase ‘grass isn’t always greener’ feels an appropriate one.
The aforementioned Josh Ajala appeared destined to leave West Ham earlier in the year too, amid interest from clubs in Germany and France. The versatile attacker was eventually convinced to stick around and sign a new contract.
If Robson is right and that the Hammers have a ‘really exciting’ plan for the current crop of kids in place, Ajala could soon be emulating Noble rather than following in the footsteps of Fejokwu.
Relegation really isn’t all bad.
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