Oliver Lee; I have heard this name many times related with the possibility of him being a future hammers first team regular. Ollie is the son of former west ham midfielder Rob Lee who made many appearances for the Irons and even achieved 21 caps for England. But does this mean son Ollie will just follow in his father’s footsteps?
I was at Dagenham on the 17th of September this year when Lee scored his first goal for the Daggers. He has gone on to score another making 11 appearances for them already this season. Ollie returned to Dagenham and Redbridge on a months’ loan in August from West Ham United which has since been extended further. The midfielder spent the last two months of last season on loan to the club, making his Football League debut away to Exeter City and went on to play six times in their fight for survival in League One. The midfielder signed as a professional with the Hammers in June 2009 and was their Under-18 captain. The Hammers have high hopes for son of former West Ham and England midfielder Robert Lee and he was on the bench for the first team a year ago for their Carling Cup tie with Millwall.
At 20 years of age he is surely old enough to be in contention for a West Ham start soon, especially with Sam Allardyce seeming keen to bring up the young players through the team it surely is only a matter of time before promising young Lee gets his chance in the spotlight. At Dagenham vs. Morecambe, Olly looked like a very self assured and natural footballer. With a fantastic long ball and a good shot on him he looks like a natural midfielder. His vision is superb and he is a physically strong player, something that every midfield needs at the centre.
I think only time will tell with Lee, with his loan spell at Dagenham doing wonders for his career and development. He is gaining valuable first team experience rather than playing in the reserves meaning that he is going to get a good feel for the game at a lower but sometimes more physical and harder level. I think Lee has the potential to be something special for West Ham in the future but at this present time I believe it is useful and helpful for Ollie to stay on loan and pick up more experience.
In football nowadays the young age of 20, sometimes seems old with players like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain at only 18 and breaking into the first team at Arsenal but it really is no age as a footballers peak is on average 26/27, Lee has many years ahead of him and in the future Oliver Lee could become a future Hammers legend with his name even perhaps on the back of an England shirt like his father.
