They say good things come to those who wait, and that certainly rings true for a Stevenage fanbase who finally saw what all the fuss was about this week with West Ham United loanee Lewis Orford.
Remarkably, Orford featured in more training sessions for England than he did actual matches for his League One employers in the first few months of 2025/26.
The West Ham United starlet was given the chance to rub shoulders with the Three Lions finest during the international break. Thomas Tuchel clearly liked what he saw from Lewis Orford in Under-20 duty. Some valuable minutes at St George’s Park alongside former Hammers skipper Declan Rice was certainly a feather in his proverbial cap.
Until Stevenage hosted Crystal Palace’s youngsters in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night, though, the Boro supporters just had to take West Ham at their word when it came to Orford’s much-discussed potential.
The 19-year-old midfielder still hasn’t played a minute of league football since joining promotion-chasing Stevenage on loan at the start of September.
But, marking his belated debut with a goal and two assists, could a place in Alex Revell’s XI be his reward during Saturday’s enticing clash with fellow high-flyers Bradford City?
Lewis Orford shines for Alex Revell’s Stevenage as West Ham United loanee makes his mark
In truth, how much can really be gleaned from a 5-2 victory over an Under-21 side is debatable. Orford appears to have outgrown youth-team football, after all.
He scored three times and set up seven goals for West Ham en route to a fourth place finish in the Premier League 2 table last season.
A starring performance against Crystal Palace’s reserve-team, then, does not tell his parent club anything they do not already know. But if this proves to be the night when Orford earned his manager’s trust in Hertfordshire, the chance to showcase his talents in the men’s game against senior opposition should be just around the corner.
“I thought, as a team, we played some really, really good stuff,” Revell said at full-time. “It was obviously good to see Lewis Orford in a Stevenage shirt for the first time, showing his capabilities, driving with the ball and getting a goal.
“That is his threat.”
Legendary captain and now-West Ham sporting director Mark Noble highlighted Lewis Orford’s ‘fantastic’ passing ability back in September of last year. It was the weight, the placement, of those passes which really stood out on his Stevenage debut.
After finding a pocket of space in the final third, Orford flicked a clever, first-time pass into the path of goalscorer Phoenix Patterson.
He would then assist Patterson’s second of the day in the second-half. A tidy one-two between the two attacking midfielders, and Orford’s lovely sliding ball was so well-placed that it allowed his partner in crime to stride onto it and rifle home without breaking stride.
A first senior goal – albeit against an academy team – would also arrive before the end. Orford swept home neatly into the bottom corner of the Crystal Palace net.
Stevenage fans want to see England U20 starlet Orford in League One action
So far, Revell has resisted the urge to throw Orford into the League One deep end. Taking an ‘if it ain’t broke’ approach at a team sitting second behind Cardiff City with a game in hand.
But, after Boro suffered only a second defeat of 2025/26 away to Lincoln last time out, there are many supporters who feel the time has come for one of West Ham’s brightest young talents to show what he is all about.
“Start him on Saturday,” one fan writes, while another suggests that former Tottenham prospect Harvey White may soon be glancing nervously over his shoulder.
“I say this with all the love for Harv in the world, but Orford is a good-sized level above where White was [when he joined].”
“That kid is on fire, what a finishing touch!,” a supporter added after seeing the teenager provide three goal contributions in just 54 midweek minutes.
“The new boy, Orford, is magic.”
“Orford and Patterson both have to start on Saturday. They were great tonight.”
“Real good watch and performance that. Orford, fantastic.”
“Declan Rice is the next Lewis Orford!”
