With the vast majority of West Ham strikers able to leave the club in the summer, is it possible that Sam Allardyce has big plans for the little Hammer, Elliot Lee?
Lee made his first team debut for West Ham away to Manchester United in the FA Cup third round replay in January, coming on for Ricardo Vaz Te in the 77th minute; quite an occasion for an 18-year-old.
Since then, though, Lee has not made a first team appearance. He is, however, the top scorer for West Ham’s development squad this season with seven goals in 17 appearances, so it is reasonable to assume the young striker would be next in line to start should Andy Carroll, Carlton Cole, Marouane Chamakh, Modibo Maiga and even Wellington Paulista be unavailable. And, being as though all of those strikers could be ‘unavailable’ for the Hammers next season due to contractual issues – ie. they won’t have one – there is a chance that Lee will be propelled up the pecking order to find himself as West Ham’s first choice frontman.
Carroll, Chamakh and Paulista will all return to their respective clubs when their loan deals expire soon and Carlton Cole still has not signed a new deal. In addition, rumours about Modibo Maiga’s departure from Upton Park were doing the rounds even before the last transfer window and his lack of playing time since then has only added substance to the gossip, meaning the Mali international is fully expected to leave in the summer having failed to impress Big Sam during the player’s short time at the club.
All this points to the diminutive Lee being handed a key role in West Ham’s next Premier League campaign.
It is highly improbable though.
It is much more likely that West Ham will do all they can to permanently secure Andy Carroll’s services, especially given the big man’s excellent run of form towards the end of this season. Furthermore, few people would be surprised to see Carlton Cole sign a new contract at the 11th hour to stay with West Ham, if not only because of how much he loves the club then also because he is a decent back-up for Carroll.
Chamakh and Paulista are bound to leave, and few fans will shed a tear for either of them. The West Ham faithful will instead be hoping the Hammers recruit forwards who will play more and score more than both of them … although that won’t be hard.
Going by West Ham’s current frontline and the manager’s track record for fancying a target man up top, Lee is, almost paradoxically, too small to fit into Big Sam’s big plans. This is likely to be the case for a long time too. But the young striker should not be disheartened; his time will come, just not yet and, in all honesty, probably not under Allardyce. Besides, if West Ham were looking to give a small youthful striker a real chance of making a name for himself, they would quickly get Rob Hall signed to a long-term deal and out onto the pitch in the claret and blue. Hall has, after all, proven himself at Championship level at least.
Will Lee get his chance next season? Sadly, the answer is probably not. But few young footballers can say they made their debut against Man United in the Theatre of Dreams. Elliot Lee can. Hopefully he will find comfort in that fact for now and keep working hard for the bright future he has ahead.
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What drugs did you take while you were writing this article? I am torn between asking for some and sending you directions to a nice clinic in Switzerland where they can put you out of your misery.Have you considered taking up a new hobby other than writing?.Needlepoint might be a nice alternative.
you are well out of line Peter and the fact you think writing this is expectable shows how much of a total twat you are and I think you deserve to be banned permanently from the site !
Care to elaborate?
Hey Peter,
Have you always had such a way with words?
I assume you are just another keyboard warrior? But if you do fancy taking up a new “hobby” then feel free to ‘put your money where your mouth is’ and produce an article for us, because you clearly feel you are a more competent writer than anyone who has ever written anything.
Maybe you could do one on West Ham’s proposed summer tour to Switzerland? I hear it is lovely that time of year
Kind regards
Editor
No he doesn’t, never has and never will. simples
Dreamer. Nice dream though. Imagine west ham playing young decent players with speed and flair from the academy. We’ve got Sam allardyce. We’ve got Sam allardyce.
He hasn’t even been out on loan yet. You only need look at how throwing Freddie Sears in too early derailed his career
What will happen then Lee, Hall, Turgott, Morrison and Spence etc