OPINION
West Ham United are not exactly in a crisis at the moment, but it would not harm them if Manuel Pellegrini made some additions that would benefit the team hugely.
No, we are not talking about spending more money in January’s transfer window – we are talking about bringing in some of the young guns into the first team fold.
Young West Ham duo Oladapo Afolayan and Xande Silva are both in line to make their senior debuts after being bought this year, according to the Guardian – and it is a decision that will surely make the London Stadium erupt.
With the absence of Andriy Yarmolenko now the main news, now could not be a better time to introduce some young talent to the mix – after all, Felipe Anderson has not really made his mark yet, and he could really do with some extra support.
Both players have been touted as having impressed their audiences thoroughly, with Silva netting a hat-trick for the under-23s in five minutes against Tottenham earlier in the season, while Afolayan has been a consistent regular for the side as well.
Declan Rice is proof that young players can really make their mark on this West Ham team, and it will save them millions in the process.
Not enough crosses are being whipped in for Marko Arnautovic, and seeming as both red-hot prospects are wingers, this could soon be a thing of the past.
It would be rather exciting to see how these two would fare in the Premier League, and whether taking the step up would faze them slightly.
With the talent that this pair possesses, that most certainly would not be the case – and deciding to play the young guns may be the best decision that Pellegrini could make all season.
If he wants the London Stadium to erupt, then handing Silva and Afolayan the chance is the right way to go about it.
