Former West Ham academy chief Terry Westley claimed goalkeeper Nathan Trott needed to stay away from the first-team and instead continue impressing on loan at AFC Wimbledon.
Westley was asked whether Trott could be recalled from his loan and thrown into the first-team given Roberto’s struggles in recent weeks, and he was against Manuel Pellegrini turning to the 20-year-old.
The ex-academy chief explained that asking a young goalkeeper with no Premier League experience to step into a team who may end up facing a relegation battle was unfair on the youngster and just generally a bad idea.
“Asking a young on loan keeper with no Premier League experience behind him to step into a team who could be facing a relegation battle is a bad idea. He needs to stay where he is right now,” Westley told Claret & Hugh.
“On the face of it you would have to ask how much there is between the two of them. Frankly, I think Nathan is going to be a top keeper but I wouldn’t want to plunge him into the team at this time. Not fair on him.
“It’s far more likely that the club will try to identify a new back up this winter although it could be a different story in the summer when Nathan comes back to Rush Green.”
OPINION
Westley pointing out that there isn’t too much between Trott and current first-choice Roberto, is not so much praise for the 20-year-old but more a damning assessment of the veteran’s form. Roberto has failed to keep a clean sheet in any of his six Premier League outings, conceding 12 goals in the process, and even managed to score an own goal against Burnley on Saturday by knocking the ball into his own net. While the 33-year-old’s spot in the first-team does need to be questioned as he is literally costing the Hammers points, Westley probably has a point about Trott needing to stay away. The 20-year-old doesn’t need his confidence shattered by being thrown into the deep end as he may not recover if he is in goal while the Hammers continue to struggle. Also while Trott is doing well at AFC Wimbledon, he has still managed to concede 20 goals in 13 outings in League One, as per Transfermarkt, so the step up to the Premier League may just be too much for him at this time.
