OPINION
West Ham United currently have some of the brightest young talents in England in their academy.
Their current batch of players will surely delight Hammers’ fans, who will be looking forward to seeing some of these squad members make the leap into the senior set-up in years to come.
Both Amadou Diallo and Jamal Baptiste have burst onto the scene in the past year, and have both been rewarded with international recognition recently.
The West Ham pairing were both handed debuts with the England under-17 squad against Germany on Thursday in a 3-3 draw.
Exciting winger, Diallo, scored in Marbella in the clash with the Germans, but his goal wasn’t enough to hand the Three Lions the victory.
In a recent report by Football.London, journalist Sam Inkersole delivered an insight to the Hammers’ pair, highlighting how Diallo made his debut for the club’s under-18 side at only 14-years-old.
Inkersole shared that the English starlet has drawn comparisons to Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, and his progress was rewarded with another contract last season, despite him not being able to sign professional terms yet.
The comparison to the standout English winger only highlights the promise surrounding Diallo, who continues to impress at each level he plays at, something that will surely leave everyone at the Hammers salivating.
Diallo usually operates from the left-hand side and can use both feet, something that will only make him more of a threat to opposition sides that he comes up against as he can create an opening in many different ways.
To see them both earn international recognition above their age group only proves they are more than capable of eventually making an impact in the Premier League, and for Diallo to be compared to Sterling, there must be a sense of excitement surrounding his development.