OPINION
West Ham United are finally beginning to bring through some real talent from their academy ranks this season, with three players making their first-team debuts already this term.
Grady Diangana, Conor Coventry and Joe Powell were all handed that honour in their 8-0 thrashing of Macclesfield in the Carabao Cup, with the trio following Declan Rice into the first-team from the club’s youth set-up.
There will no doubt be others knocking on the door, but the club may now be facing a huge fight to keep one of their most-promising youngsters around.
As reported by the Mirror, Manchester United and Manchester City are both keeping tabs on 19-year-old goalkeeper Nathan Trott, as are Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.
The newspaper claim that West Ham are trying to tie Trott down to a new deal, with his current contract expiring in 18 months, but now face a fight to keep their third-choice stopper around.
Trott joined the club in 2016 and has won plaudits from many on his way to becoming a part of the first-team set-up, and the youngster looks like someone who could well go on to first-team football at the London Stadium.
His shot stopping ability is fantastic, and due to his past playing as a midfielder, his footwork and distribution are approaching top level as well.
The level of interest from such top clubs illustrates how highly-regarded the 6ft ace [Transfermarkt] really is, and to lose him after two years of development would be a damaging blow.
The club must now pull out all the stops to tie Trott down to a new deal, with the youngster having the potential to go on and become a star for the Hammers in the near future.
