{"id":337856,"date":"2025-12-27T15:58:17","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T15:58:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/337856\/"},"modified":"2025-12-27T15:58:17","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T15:58:17","slug":"nuno-makes-exciting-claim-about-west-ham-kids-mohamadou-kante-and-ezra-mayers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/337856\/","title":{"rendered":"Nuno makes exciting claim about West Ham kids Mohamadou Kante and Ezra Mayers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With Mohamadou Kante, Callum Marshall and Ezra Mayers all handed Premier League debuts, Nuno Espirito Santo clearly wasn\u2019t lying when he said youngsters would get a chance at West Ham United. <\/p>\n

Nuno immediately got the Hammers fans onside<\/a> by bringing Freddie Potts into the fold, on his first outing since replacing Graham Potter at the end of September.<\/p>\n

Three months later, another talented trio of up-and-comers have all featured on the senior stage for the first time. <\/p>\n

Mohamadou Kante<\/a> made his top-flight bow off the bench against Manchester United at Old Trafford, and then followed that up with another cameo appearance in that 3-2 defeat by Aston Villa.<\/p>\n

How highly do YOU rate Mohamadou Kante? \ud83e\udd14 <\/p>\n

What will West Ham’s best midfield look like in 2026?<\/p>\n

\"West <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc47 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say <\/p>\n

Nuno introduced Callum Marshall at Arsenal<\/a> in October\u2019s 2-0 loss, picking the Northern Ireland prospect over the far more experienced Callum Wilson. <\/p>\n

Ezra Mayers has made a good impression<\/a> on the West Ham United<\/a> supporters, too. The teenage centre-half stepped in at left-back when Ollie Scarles was forced off at the Etihad in the final match before Christmas.<\/p>\n

Now, speaking on the Ironcast podcast<\/a> before the Hammers host London neighbours Fulham at 3pm, Nuno Espirito Santo<\/a> opened up on his plans for Kante, Marshall and one George Earthy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mohamadou Kante and Ezra Mayers have a role to play at Nuno\u2019s West Ham United<\/p>\n

Nuno was speaking opposite former West Ham-striker-turned-Loans and Pathways Manager Carlton Cole.<\/p>\n

Cole believes Mohamadou Kante is an \u2018unbelievable\u2019 talent<\/a>. The \u2018shining beacon\u2019 of Greg Lincoln\u2019s impressive Under-21 crop.<\/p>\n

Now, Nuno insists that patience is required \u2013 Kante went from a Premier League debut against Manchester United to an EFL Trophy clash with Colchester \u2013 but opportunities will always present themselves for young talent with the quality and the character required.<\/p>\n

\"EzraPhoto by James Gill \u2013 Danehouse\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very, very important [to give youngsters a chance]. The energy that the boys bring to the training sessions and the commitment\u2026,\u201d says Nuno. \u201cThey have that \u2018no worries\u2019 attitude. No fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the main reason [for bringing in the likes of Kante and Mayers] was to try and elevate the levels inside the training session. <\/p>\n

\u201cBy that \u2018energy,\u2019 I mean trying to anticipate what we are suffering from now. We don\u2019t have Aaron [Wan-Bissaka], and we don\u2019t have Malik [Diouf], so we need bodies in the defence as backup options.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayers could start against Fulham after Ollie Scarles knock<\/p>\n

While Wan-Bissaka and Diouf are unavailable due to their African Cup of Nations commitments, Nuno was \u2018worried\u2019 about Ollie Scarles\u2019<\/a> latest injury against Manchester City. <\/p>\n

If the left-back is not fit enough to start against Fulham, this may lead to a first Premier League start at the age of just 18 for Mayers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you said, Ezra came into the game and Mo came into the game. They are going to have their chances. I think they\u2019ll get those opportunities because, ultimately, they are going to be needed,\u201d Nuno adds.<\/p>\n

\u201c[But] don\u2019t get too carried away!<\/p>\n

How would YOU feel if Nuno picked this XI to take on Fulham? <\/p>\n

Callum Wilson or no Callum Wilson?<\/p>\n

\"Callum <\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc47 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have Callum Marshall and we have George [Earthy]. There will not be spaces for everybody. But I truly believe that, within the culture of the club, the boys from the academy are important.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not just because they are there. It\u2019s because we, as a coaching staff, believe we have something to work on. We want to make them better, just like every other player in the squad.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to Marshall, Earthy, Kante and Mayers, Finlay Herrick and Airidas Golambeckis have trained<\/a> with West Ham\u2019s first team squad as well.<\/p>\n

Herrick, as a goalkeeper, may have to wait for his inclusion in the matchday squad. Golambeckis has already been included on the bench, though, for that 3-2 victory over Burnley a month-and-a-half ago.<\/p>\n

The club\u2019s Under-21 captain may be part of the roster again versus Fulham, with a handful of senior players either unavailable or doubtful.<\/p>\n

Join Our Newsletter <\/p>\n

Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With Mohamadou Kante, Callum Marshall and Ezra Mayers all handed Premier League debuts, Nuno Espirito Santo clearly wasn\u2019t…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337857,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[5431,131329,218,1607,129339,45733,221,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-337856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-callum-marshall","tag-ezra-mayers","tag-football","tag-george-earthy","tag-mohamadou-kante","tag-nuno-espirito-santo","tag-premier-league","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}