Ollie Scarles will save West Ham United tens of millions in the transfer market.
With Emerson Palmieri now on the wrong side of 30, Ollie Scarles is his heir apparent at West Ham.
In fact, it could actually be argued that the Hammers teenager has now usurped the Italy international as the first-choice left-back at the London Stadium.
Scarles was magnificent against Arsenal, and Jarrod Bowen described his teammates’s performance as ‘brilliant’.
Bowen isn’t wrong. The West Ham academy graduate looked every bit the experienced Premier League player at The Emirates.
He locked down Ethan Nwaneri, and offered us a real outlet down the left hand flank as well.
Let’s not forget, he was one of our better performers against Brentford nine days ago as well, and Potter named his as one of only three players who deserved any credit.
The future is very bright indeed for Scarles, and he must know that he very much belongs at the highest level now.
However, he has admitted that he was shocked by something Potter did just last week.
West Ham star Ollie Scarles says Graham Potter stunned him
The 19-year-old will surely now be our left-back for the next decade and more.
To put in the performance he did at The Emirates was incredibly impressive, given his age.
Now the goal for him will be to keep improving with every week that passes.
And Scarles lifted the lid on how shocked he was when Potter gave him the nod to start against the Gunners, as quoted by WHUFC.com:
“To be fair, I actually found out I was starting in a meeting earlier on in the week,” Scarles said. “We worked on shape and stuff, so I knew fairly early.
“It was a shock to me, I guess, as I didn’t really expect it. Obviously, I’m grateful for all the minutes I’ve had so far, coming off the bench.
“But to get a start and then to put in a performance like that with the boys and get all three points, I couldn’t ask for any more.“
Well, I’m sure Scarles won’t be shocked anymore when he sees his name on the team-sheet.
What a sensational performance that was from the teenager against the Gunners.
Now, the main priority for the West Ham owners will be to tie Ollie Scarles down to a new long-term deal.
We absolutely cannot risk him leaving the London Stadium within the next few years.
Hopefully Scarles has a long and bright future ahead of him in East London.
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