Success at youth team level does not always translate into the Premier League but, at West Ham United, emulating Mark Noble, Nigel Reo-Coker and Declan Rice certainly bodes well for a bright future at senior level.
A number of the club’s captains at Under-21 level have gone on to enjoy highly successful careers in claret and blue.
Reo-Coker played nearly 150 games for West Ham United. No discussion of the club’s most legendary skippers is ever complete without a mention of Mark Noble. And Declan Rice blossomed into ‘one of the best in the world’ at the London Stadium, en route to becoming the most expensive British footballer in the history of the game.
Now, there is no guarantee that Airidas Golambeckis will go on to share a Champions League stage with Real Madrid, a la Rice. Or that he is even destined to become a first-team player for the Hammers.
But, as Golambeckis follows in the footsteps of Declan Rice, Mark Noble, Nigel Reo-Coker and more, he is fully aware of the privileged position he finds himself in.
Airidas Golambeckis reflects on emulating Declan Rice and Mark Noble at West Ham United
Golambeckis, like Rice, took the armband at Under-21 level before his 18th birthday. Clearly, the Hammers feel that their England youth centre-back is a natural-born leader. Someone capable of leading by example despite playing with, and often against, players much further along in their development.
Golambeckis captained his team again as George Earthy made his West Ham comeback during Tuesday’s 3-2 EFL Trophy victory over fourth-tier Swindon Town.
“Being a captain of this team at such a young age and playing against teams of seasoned pros is a real privilege,” Golambeckis tells the official West Ham website.
“We were very excited coming into the game, knowing that, if we won, we’d go through [to the EFL Trophy knockout phases]. We battled it out.
“It wasn’t pretty at times, but that’s what this competition is all about; Winning. I think we played very well, defended very well and took our chances in the end.
“To be the only Under-21s team to get through so far, I think it sets the tone of how good we can be. Hopefully we can carry that into the other cup competitions and the league as well.”
Golambeckis says EFL Trophy win over Swindon Town was ‘amazing’
As Golambeckis said, West Ham were the first Academy side to progress through the first round. The prolific Josh Landers joined Earthy and Joshua Ajala on the scoresheet for Greg Lincoln’s side, while Rayan Oyebade, Josh Briggs and goalkeeper Krisztian Hegyi all made valuable contributions at the other end.
“I think me, Rayan and Briggsie were tough on the day. The whole team was. But us back three, I think we worked very well together,” adds Golambeckis, who is closing in on a half-century of league appearances for West Ham at youth level.
“We knew that they were going to go long the majority of the time. I think us three were very solid [away to Swindon]. We dealt with all the long balls that came over.
“Although we were two goals up at half-time, we knew that they were going to come out strong. They got that one goal quite early in the second half, but then everyone showed resilience. We went on to score another goal, Josh Landers. It was a great team goal which ultimately helped us win the game.
“It got scrappy at the end, a bit physical. We were on the back foot. But that’s what this tournament is for. I’m just glad that we won the game.”
Rampaging left-sider Emeka Adiele is racking up the goal contributions. French powerhouse Mohamadou Kante signed a new contract this week, while the aforementioned Landers – who also inked a new deal – took his tally to 17 goals in 21 games since joining from Hibernian in January.
“I think it’s amazing [to perform so well against professional teams]. Especially for us, our Under-21s,” Golambeckis says. “For us younger players, it gives us that experience.
“Swindon and MK Dons [who the Hammers beat 5-1 earlier in the competition] are fighting for promotion in League Two. It exposes you to that type of football which I think is very important. It’s probably my favourite competition and I’m delighted we’ve made it into the next round.”
