Sporting director Mark Noble thinks West Ham United Under-21 captain Airidas Golambeckis has ‘a chance’ of forcing his way into their Premier League plans under Nuno Espirito Santo.
A whole host of exciting academy talent have signed new contracts at the London Stadium over the last week or so.
Mohamadou Kante put pen to paper alongside Josh Landers, while Noble tipped ‘the fantastic’ Preston Fearon to go right to the top at West Ham United providing he makes good on his dazzling potential.
On Tuesday, it was the turn of Airidas Golambeckis. Quite the birthday gift.
Mark Noble excited about West Ham United starlet Airidas Golambeckis
West Ham’s Under-21 stalwart is emulating Declan Rice and Mark Noble himself, skippering the reserve team even before he turned 18.
“It’s a credit to all departments in the Academy to have another player who has come through every single age group,” former captain-turned-sporting director Noble tells the official West Ham website after Golambeckis signed a new deal until the summer of 2029.
“We identified how good he was pretty quickly, and the fact he played in the FA Youth Cup as a schoolboy is a great indicator on his potential.
“He’s a great kid and a top player. Being captain of our Under-21s team at such a young age is a real honour, but he’s still got loads to learn. He’s another one that we’ve got real high hopes for. We would like to see him in our first team squad soon and I really believe he’s got a chance.”
Nuno handed Callum Marshall his Premier League debut in October. He also gave Freddie Potts, another academy stand-out, a first start during Sunday’s 3-1 win over Newcastle.
