West Ham United youngster Xande Silva is likely to play in the FA Cup against AFC Wimbledon on Saturday, according to Claret & Hugh.
The reliable Hammers news source claims that the 21-year-old is in position to feature against the League One side, having started against Birmingham City in the last round of the competition.
The Portuguese starlet, 21, has made steady progress since recovering from injury earlier this season, and has worked his way into manager Manuel Pellegrini’s first team plans.
OPINION
This is good news for West Ham fans. Silva made his full debut for the club against the Blues last time out in the FA Cup and did pretty well on the whole. It’s clear that he’s still raw, but it was also obvious that he has immense potential. These are the sorts of games where it’s worth giving him a run out, and so he should be in the frame to at least feature against Wimbledon – if not start the game. With all the uncertainty surrounding the Hammers’ strikers it’s a good time for a young attacker like Silva to come to prominence. He was in explosive form for the club’s development team before being sidelined earlier this campaign, and has clearly impressed Pellegrini sufficiently to earn a first team spot. There won’t be many kinder opportunities to continue to blood the youngster, with all due respect to Wimbledon, and so it would be crazy for Pellegrini not to give him another chance on Saturday.
