Holland lays down marker as Hammer for the future
THERE is nothing wrong with setting the bar high but comparing an aspiring young talent to Ryan Giggs is like moving straight from the high jump to the pole vault.
Terry Westley, West Ham’s Academy manager, makes no apology, however, for making such a comparison following Nathan Holland’s virtuoso performance in the club’s 2-0, Under-23 win over Fulham at the London Stadium on Monday night.
Holland scored and sufficiently impressed Westley to declare that the 18-year-old reminded him of the Manchester United great. Praise indeed for the Manchester-born teenager but as Westley explained: “When you have the chance to laud these young players then you have to do it – and he did remind me of a young Ryan Giggs.
“Nathan has that rare quality of being able to run as quickly with the ball as without it — and that is very unusual. He covers the ground with the ball, a little like Steve McManaman did for Liverpool.”
Holland joined from Everton last month on a three-and-a-half-year deal but it was three years ago that Westley first recognised his ability. “I was at an England Under-16 match along with Dave Hunt, our head of Academy Recruitment, and they were playing Turkey.
“England had this winger, a skinny, scrawny, under-developed young lad but after 15 minutes I got my pen and put a line under his name.
“I said to Dave: ‘This kid is going to be some player. Where’s he from?’ Well, he was at Everton then, he’d been there all his career. To cut a long story short, a month ago I got a call from Dave. He said: ‘Can you remember the name Nathan Holland?’
“I said: ‘Yes, I remember him. I’ve still got the programme from three years ago, with his name underlined.’
“Dave said that he might be available. I said: ‘Dave, just go and get him. Do anything you can. I don’t need to see him again’.”
Holland signed his first professional contract with Everton in January of last year, having been at the club since he was nine. However, his progress stalled in his final year there.
“Players can sometimes lose their way, get disillusioned,” said Westley. “They go and ask if they can move. There were a host of clubs after him and we sat down with his mother and set out the plan. The big thing was that, when I looked him in the eyes I saw that hunger he has to become a player. We will only win if he goes on to be the player we believe he will be.”
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