With Freddie Potts back in first-team action under Nuno Espirito Santo, fellow West Ham United starlets Ollie Scarles and Callum Marshall will now be desperate to follow in his footsteps.
A delighted Freddie Potts returned to the Premier League stage for only his second appearance of the season – and his first since the 5-1 drubbing by Chelsea five weeks earlier – as Nuno kicked off his West Ham United reign with Monday’s 1-1 draw at Everton.
In a decision which earned him the immediate approval of a fanbase driven to insanity by Graham Potter’s odd team selections, Nuno Espirito Santo brought academy graduate Potts off the bench for the final half hour on Merseyside.
And given how he performed when he got there – forward passes, smart touches, breaking the lines – the 22-year-old is likely to find minutes a lot more forthcoming from here on in.
The message Nuno sent out to the rest of West Ham’s youngsters, then, is that opportunities are there for those willing to seize them. Good news for Ollie Scarles and Callum Marshall, in particular. Not to mention the likes of Mohamadou Kante, Airidas Golambeckis, and the rest of Mark Robson’s Under-21 squad.
Ollie Scarles and Callum Marshall impress for Mark Robson’s West Ham United reserves
Left-back Scarles won the Young Player of the Year award last season but is yet to feature this term. The form of El Hadji Malick Diouf is the main reason for that, of course, but the England Under-20 international may still have been a little disappointed to see all the progress he made in the first half of 2025 stall.
There are plenty of West Ham fans demanding a role for Callum Marshall, meanwhile. By scoring the opener against Reading in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night, the Northern Ireland international has now hit the net four times in just three appearances over the course of the last fortnight.
There is a reason why Marshall earned comparisons with a younger Jamie Vardy during pre-season. An excellent presser, a willing runner, and a snaffler of chances, all those attributes were in evidence as he opened the scoring at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
“We had Cal and Ollie with us,” Robson told the West Ham website, Reading turning the game around after a harsh red card for Ezra Mayers just after half-time. “We had to limit Ollie’s minutes just because he’s had very little game time, but we want to keep him sharp in case he’s called upon.
“I thought he applied himself really well, as did Cal.
“Cal just gives his best every game and every training session. He’s great for some of the younger lads to look at, because his whole demeanour rubs off on them.”
Tom Wooster saves a penalty in EFL Trophy loss at Reading
Scarles played 67 minutes on the left wing. Robson was impressed by the way Mayers, Golambeckis and Rayan Oyebade kept League One outfit Reading quiet in the opening half, before that controversial red card turned the tide.
And, just days after West Ham signed goalkeeper Reece Byrne from Newcastle, another former trialist justified the club’s decision to hand him a contract.
Once of Manchester United, Tom Wooster signed a deal until the end of the season over the weekend. In his first match as a permanent West Ham player, Wooster not only saved a penalty, he also impressed with his ball-playing qualities.
“We’re really grateful to have had [Head of Coaching and Development] Greg Lincoln with us to support the first-team Academy boys,” Robson added on a day when the Hammers had the veteran figure of Tomas Soucek – still suspended from first-team action – in the centre of the park.
“[Lincoln] kept the boys ticking over for us after they travelled to Everton, and ready for tonight’s game, so we really appreciate it.
“I also thought the boys at the back were very good, Rayan [Oyebade], Ezra [Mayers], Airidas [Golambeckis]. Tom Wooster made a couple of excellent saves and his distribution was decent too. Tomas Soucek came in and gave us a lot of experience, which really helped. Overall there were some really good performances.
“I’m really disappointed overall with the refereeing. In the end, Reading probably came out worthy winners, but when you’re down to ten men straight after half-time it becomes really difficult.”
Robson disappointed by Ezra Mayers red card
After leading them to fourth place in the Premier League 2 table last season, Robson’s Under-21s have had a mixed start to the new campaign. Robson’s West Ham youngsters thrashed MK Dons 5-1 in their EFL Trophy opener, however, before holding their own at third-tier Reading.
While Potts started in that MK Dons victory, Marshall, Scarles and maybe even Kante may have forced their way into Nuno’s plans after standing out against senior opposition.
“We were good first half,” Robson says. “I think we started off quite well, although we had a little spell where we lost a bit of control. They caused us problems with lots of crosses into the box, something we don’t often get in U21s football, but the lads dealt with it really well.
“Defensively I thought we were excellent. Coming in at half-time 1-0 up, looking okay, we felt we were in a good place.
“I’m really disappointed with the penalty and the sending-off decision [for Mayers]. I’ve got to say it was very, very soft, but it happened and we had to deal with it after that. To be fair, we thought we were going to hang on. It was very late when they scored the second, and we’d been backs to the wall for most of the second half. It became difficult for us, but it was a good challenging game for the boys.
“We dug in and defended well. On the bench you start thinking about penalties and a bonus point, and if we’d got to that it would have been brilliant for us. The resilience of the boys I thought was excellent, and the work ethic was there again. But it just wasn’t to be tonight.
“The extra man and the extra balls going into the box made it hard for us, and there were a lot of tired bodies at the end of the game. It’s a shame we didn’t go on, but we were really proud of the players’ performance.”
