West Ham United has announced that 12 players have signed full scholarship contracts with the team’s football academy ahead of the start of next season.
The club listed the players as Dondre Abraham, Emeka Adiele, Joshua Ajala, Gabriele Caliste, Preston Fearon, Mehmet Halim, Riley Hargan, Ezra Mayers, Jethro Medine, Amara Nallo, Rayan Oyebade and Elisha Sowunmi, they all signed their respective scholarships at a special evening held in their honour at the club’s Rush Green training ground.
They were rewarded with the scholarship terms on the back of their performances with the U18s and U16s last season. While some made appearances for the U18s, others made themselves regulars for the U16s last season.
Four players of Nigerian descent were among the 12 players namely Emeka Adiele, Joshua Ajala, Ryan Oyebade and Elisha Sowunmi. Their individual abilities were highlighted by the coach of the U16s Carlton Cole who is also of Nigerian descent and famously turned down the chance to play for Nigeria,when he was approached to commit his international future to Super Eagles ahead of England.
Below is his assessment on the Nigerian players as seen on the club’s official website, where Cole analysed all of the 12 players, who were handed scholarship by the English Premier League side.
Emeka Adiele
“Emeka is a flying full-back who can play anywhere on the left side. He has really come on this season and made his U21s debut in the Premier League International Cup earlier this year. He stepped up that day and has impressed ever since.
Joshua Ajala
“Joshua is a young forward who has impressed and we’re all excited to see him play in Claret and Blue going forward.”
Rayan Oyebade
“Rayan came into the Academy system a bit later but has developed superbly. He is a left centre-back who can also play at wing-back. He has got a lot of tools at his disposal and has been growing in confidence too.”
Elisha Sowunmi
“Elisha has been our No10 this season. He’s a tricky, creative player who has developed well. He cares a lot and wants to do really well. I’ve been very proud of his progression and hopefully we can see more of him in the future.”
Daniel Martins.
