OPINION
West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini is reportedly set to make changes to the way the club handles its Under-23s team and his plan could be a game changer for years to come.
The Hammers have a wonderful academy brimming with exciting prospects but only a handful of talents in recent years have got anywhere close to the first-team, with even fewer being able to establish themselves at the club.
It’s very important that there is a clear path from the club’s youth system all the way through to its first-team, as not only does that see the best youngsters arrive at the club, it ensures the Hammers keep all their hidden gems with them.
Claret & Hugh, a popular Hammers news site with reliable information, reported on Friday that Pellegrini had plans for the U-23s team to train at Rush Green in order for them to have much closer contact with the first-team.
The news outlet also revealed that this change would allow the high-profile manager to keep a closer eye on flourishing talents, so he was aware of their development.
It is believed that Pellegrini is currently reviewing dossiers on every Hammers starlet that have been handed to him by academy manager Terry Westley, and that he has already visited Chadwell Heath, which is where the youngsters train.
While the Hammers boss may have only been in charge for a matter of days, with loads of promising reports emerging, this is clearly the most exciting plan to emerge out of the London Stadium yet.
If done right, which it sounds like it is going to be, the Hammers will have a constant flow of talent filtering through to their first-team, without spending a penny on transfers.
This would be a game changer for the club as it would guarantee a situation where the first-team manager was never depleted of options again, for example see how David Moyes struggled in the tail end of last season when it came to finding midfielders.
Therefore while it may not directly effect the first-team yet, Pellegrini’s reported plan has the future in mind and will have a major game changing effect on the club.
