Technically speaking, there were twelve West Ham United players on the pitch when Saturday’s friendly against fifth-tier Southend kicked-off.
And, no, this was not some sort of administrative blunder. It may be matchday one of pre-season, but no one is quite that rusty.
While Nuno started Jarrod Bowen, Dinos Mavropanos and Taty Castellanos in Essex – the West Ham United boss going strong before changing his entire XI on the hour mark – there was also a fairly familiar face in the visiting team.
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Well, familiar to regular youth-team watchers, that is.
Rayan Oyebade joined Southend United on loan a few days ago. His debut for the Shrimpers therefore came against his parent club; an intriguing subplot and a welcome distraction in what proved to be a fairly uneventful encounter.
Rayan Oyebade makes his point against West Ham United
A 19-year-old, left-sided centre-half who has represented both England and Greece at youth level, there is a lot to like about Oyebade. Defensive southpaws do not grow on trees, after all.
Oyebade is also a very neat, progressive passer of the ball with that left foot. He demonstrated as much here with some well-placed, probing balls through the thirds and out to the wings.
“[Oyebade] doesn’t look like the centre-backs I remember!” quipped James Collins during West Ham’s in-house coverage; the big Welshman a throwback to a less-fashionable era of defending.
“He looks good on the ball. I’ve been impressed with him.”
It is maybe not a stretch to suggest that, if it wasn’t for Ezra Mayers, Oyebade may be pushing for a first-team spot at West Ham this summer.
Collins, though, is just pleased to see the teenager given the chance to play regular minutes in the men’s game for the first time.
“I think it’s great for the young lads to go out on loan,” adds a man who made 214 West Ham appearances over two spells. “When I was coming through, it was all about the loan market.
“You get great experience in the men’s game and in the lower leagues. It’s great for their education in football.”
Kevin Keen says West Ham rate Oyebade very highly
Playing the full 90 minutes, Oyebade was part of a disciplined Southend backline who restricted West Ham to relatively little. Keiber Lamadrid rattled the post from distance, Jarrod Bowen had a good effort palmed aside, and Taty Castellanos squandered a couple of chances.
Oyebade, while not overly tested, performed all of his tasks with a real sense of composure and confidence. Having said that, his heart may have entered his mouth ever-so-briefly when the tireless Callum Marshall chased down one headed back-pass late on.
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“He’s not quite in the manager’s [Nuno’s] thoughts at the moment, so instead we wanted him to go and get some serious football under his belt. I worked with him then and he’s a great athlete and a good footballer,” Kevin Keen, West Ham’s Loans Manager, told Echo News of Oyebade a few days ago.
“We feel like this is the ideal move for him for the next part of his career.
“He’s been with us five years and he’s very highly thought of. He’s a left-sided centre-back or left-back who came in quite late when he was 14 or 15 years old. I think he’s got a lot of the modern attributes which are looked for in football at the moment.
“He’s extremely athletic, quick and strong.”
Athletic, quick, strong, and clearly not overawed by the prospect of playing against his parent club with Castellanos up top and Nuno watching from the sidelines.
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