There were some youngsters, some exit-linked fringe players, and some long-serving fan favourites in action as West Ham United kicked off their pre-season preparations with a 3-2 behind-closed-doors victory over Colchester at Rush Green.
With a month to go before the Hammers open their Championship campaign at Burnley, Nuno Espirito Santo is putting his players through their paces in East London.
Well, the players who were not on World Cup duty, that is.
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While Crysencio Summerville and El Hadji Malick Diouf have an extended break to enjoy following a busy summer – while Tomas Soucek is absent for the foreseeable future – opportunities have presented themselves for a handful of talented West Ham United kids.
Josh Ajala hopes to catch Nuno’s eye at West Ham United
In a series of photos provided by the official Hammers website, Josh Ajala could be spotted in action alongside Finlay Herrick, Ezra Mayers and Airidas Golambeckis. A prolific goalscorer at U21 level and wearing number 66 for the first-team, Ajala is one of those who could benefit from a season in the Championship.
Nuno used 22 players against League Two outfit Colchester, changing his entire starting XI at half-time.
Jarrod Bowen, Taty Castellanos and Alphonse Areola were all present after missing out on a place in their nation’s World Cup squad. Freddie Potts, Pablo, Mohamadou Kante and Ollie Scarles were also involved, as was forgotten man James Ward-Prowse.
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Keiber Lamadrid is approaching his first full season as a permanent member of the squad, too, having clearly spent much of the summer in the gym.
The Hammers will play their first pre-season match in front of a crowd away to Southend United on Saturday. They are also due to face Stevenage, Rangers and FC Magdeburg before raising the curtain with an EFL Cup first-round clash against Portsmouth on August 8th.
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