West Ham United youngster Callum Marshall gives David Moyes further food for thought
West Ham supporters have long known they have a real talent on their hands in teenage forward Callum Marshall.
The 18-year-old has been consistently brilliant for the U21s side for a while now, and his scintillating form is showing no signs of slowing down.
Marshall scored another hat-trick on Friday (27 October) in a huge 5-0 win for the Irons against their Middlesbrough counterparts at Rush Green.
As pointed out by freelance football statistician Marshall Gillespie on Twitter (28 October), Marshall’s figures this season are simply “crazy”.
The Northern Ireland age-grade international has played 10 games and scored 15 goals, including a couple of hat-tricks and a couple of braces.
When breaking down the figures further, Marshall is scoring at a rate of one goal every 55 minutes – an unbelievable return at any level.
That is on the back of scoring 23 goals in the 2022-23 season as the club won an Under-18 Premier League South and FA Youth Cup double.
David Moyes has no doubt had an eye on Marshall for a while, and it may well be he has no choice but to give the youngster a first-team shot.
That is not to say Marshall should be thrown into the starting line-up for a Premier League game, but there are plenty of fixtures coming up.
The Hammers have an EFL Cup tie with Arsenal on the horizon – a perfect breeding ground for youngsters – plus more Europa League ties.
Marshall celebrates his 19th birthday on Sunday (29 October) which, as incredible as it sounds, is not all that young in footballing terms any more.
If you are good enough, you are old enough. And right now, there is not a great deal more Marshall can do to merit a place on the bench for the senior side.
Having been an unused substitute just once so far, in the 1-0 EFL Cup win at Lincoln City, Marshall’s chance will surely soon arrive.
With Michail Antonio struggling and Danny Ings’ United career never truly taking off, the in-form teen can provide a good option from the bench.
After his latest starring role against Middlesbrough, Marshall has ensured he quite simply cannot be ignored any longer.
