West Ham United have four youngsters playing on loan in the Football League this season – Michael Forbes, Kaelan Casey, Lewis Orford and Gideon Kodua – though none of the quartet started on Saturday afternoon.
While former Hammers captain Kevin Nolan was delighted to sign Michael Forbes at Northampton Town, just weeks after bringing Kamarai Swyer to Sixfields, the Cobblers boss has taken an ‘if it ain’t broke’ approach over the last month.
That meant, during a run of three successive League One victories, Forbes remained on the bench with Nolan reluctant to change a winning formula.
Over in South Wales, Kaelan Casey has impressed the Swansea City faithful. But, like with Nolan at Northampton, head coach Alan Sheehan has opted to stick with more experienced options. Casey has played three times as many games in the EFL Cup as he has in the Championship.
Lewis Orford was part of the Stevenage squad for the first time during Saturday’s 2-1 win over Exeter City, at least. Gideon Kodua, in contrast, was nowhere to be seen at League One rivals Luton Town.
And though initial reports suggested that Kodua’s absence from that defeat at Lincoln City was down to injury, Kenilworth Road chief Matt Bloomfield insists that this was a purely tactical decision.
Matt Bloomfield explains why West Ham United loanee Gideon Kodua was left out by Luton Town
After reuniting with a player he worked with previously at Wycombe Wanderers, Matt Bloomfield predicted the Luton fans would ‘love’ the former West Ham Under-18 captain.
The manager then confirmed that Luton have an ‘option-to-buy’ clause in Kodua’s contract. One of the bright lights in a difficult start to the current campaign, the 2023 FA Youth Cup winner appeared to be moving in the right direction while seemingly nailing down his spot as Bloomfield’s first-choice right-wing-back.
So Kodua’s absence at Lincoln – not only from the starting XI but the entire matchday squad – came as a big surprise.
“He wasn’t injured, Gids,” Bloomfield explains to Luton Today, picking fellow right-sider Shayden Morris on the bench instead while starting Nigel Longwijk in Kodua’s usual position.
“With the balance of the bench and needing players to cover different positions, him and Shayden obviously occupy that right-hand side, it came down as a choice to that.
“It’s probably harsh on Gids as he’s done well for us, but that was the decision we had to make.”
An eventual 3-1 defeat at Sincil Park leaves Luton – arguably the pre-season title favourites – down in eleventh place. They have lost half of their eight league matches so far.
And while Graham Potter would move away from a much-maligned three-at-the-back system following a nightmare start, Bloomfield is now under pressure to do the same.
Fortunately, the versatility Bloomfield highlighted when explaining the signing of Kodua means the Newham-born 20-year-old should still have a big part to play over the coming months.
“He offers options both at wing-back, in attacking wide areas and in a high ‘ten’ position, and brings good dribbling ability while linking play. He’s got pace and power,” Bloomfield said in August.
“He’s a great lad, and he will be someone who our fans will love watching.”
Kodua left West Ham in order to ‘showcase’ his talents in the Football League
While opening the door to a permanent West Ham exit in 2026, Gideon Kodua later explained his reasoning behind joining Luton on an ‘option-to-buy’ arrangement.
“I’m nowhere near my ceiling. That’s why I’ve come here. To improve, just better myself and showcase myself to the Luton fans and to the world really,” Kodua said.
“My family are happy. They’ve steered me in the right direction also, always helping me along my journey, keeping me calm when I’m not, and just doing literally everything they can to help me. I just want to prove myself, or prove to myself that I can really do this and get to the next level and where I want to be.
“Basically, just showcase myself really.”
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