West Ham United’s academy has produced some simply incredible players over the years. The Hammers boast players who could be considered some of England’s best, including midfielder Frank Lampard, who played 179 times for the club before moving to London rivals Chelsea where he made his dynasty.
They also brought through two players who ended up having success under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. Michael Carrick was one of those players, and he played 154 games in Claret and Blue, before joining Tottenham Hotspur and United just two years later.
Defender Rio Ferdinand, who made 150 appearances for the Hammers, followed a similar path, going to Old Trafford via their bitter rivals Leeds following his move from East London.
In more recent times, Declan Rice is one of their most notable academy graduates. He played 245 times for the club, winning the Europa Conference League in 2022/23. Mark Noble, who retired the season prior, racked up 550 appearances on Claret and Blue.
As good as these players were for the Hammers, they have failed to hold on to some of their talented academy stars in recent years.
The West Ham academy graduates who left the club
Over the past four years, there have been two notable departures from the West Ham academy. The first of those was 24-year-old Jeremy Ngakia. The London-born defender left his boyhood club to join Watford in 2020 after he could not agree on a new deal with the Hammers.
After playing for the East London outfit at both under-18 and under-21 level, Ngakia played five times for the first team in the 2019/20 campaign. His debut came against Liverpool in the Premier League, and he made a further four appearances, all of which came consecutively. However, he never played again for the Hammers despite those outings and joined Watford the following summer.
Another major loss for West Ham in recent years came this summer. They lost striker Divin Mubama, who saw his contract in East London expire at the end of last season. He made the move to Manchester City, who paid their Premier League rivals compensation to bring him to the Etihad Stadium.
Mubama made 18 appearances for the Hammers’ first team, scoring once in that time. He was also part of the under-18s side that won the FA Youth Cup in 2022/23, helping his side to the final after a hattrick in the semi-final against Southampton.
It was certainly frustrating to lose both of these talents, but losing Sonny Perkins was arguably an even bigger loss, given how highly rated he was.
Perkins was supposed to be West Ham’s superstar
Perkins was one of the most highly-rated youngsters at West Ham during his time at the club. Although he is predominantly a centre-forward, Harry Brooks, a private coach for the England under-18 side, compared to him legendary Spanish midfielder Andres Iniesta:
“I don’t like comparing players but his style is like an Iniesta with size and power, and the ability to drive and gallop. He’s got incredible feet. Really smooth, he’s creative. As a ball striker, he’s probably the best ball striker I’ve ever worked with. Happy off both feet and a real natural footballer where you want him to get on the ball as often as he can.
“As a character he’s fantastic. He’s got magic, intelligence and football ability – not many players have magic nowadays, but he certainly does. I’m looking forward to seeing the season he’s going to have.”
In total, the Hammers academy graduate made three first-team appearances at the London Stadium, all in 2021/22. Two of those came in the Europa League for a total of 99 minutes, and he made a three-minute cameo in the Premier League, his only top-flight appearance to date.
Much to the fury of those in east London, the 20-year-old joined Leeds on a free transfer in 2022 following the expiration of his contract, signing a three-year deal at Elland Road. However, things haven’t quite worked out for him for the Whites, for whom he has played just four times.
He has been out on loan twice during his time at Leeds. After a loan to Oxford United, the striker is currently at Leyton Orient in League One on a temporary basis, although things have not worked out for him so far for the club. He has just three goals and two assists in 15 games.
Perkins record by competition this season for Leyton Orient | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Competition | Games | Goals | Assists |
League One | 8 | 1 | 0 |
EFL Trophy | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Carabao Cup | 3 | 0 | 1 |
FA Cup | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Stats from Transfermarkt | |||
The Hammers may have been kicking themselves for letting such a highly-rated talent like Perkins leave the club two years ago. With that being said, he has really struggled since departing the London Stadium, and West Ham fans may be watching from afar hoping the man once compared to Iniesta can get his career back on track.
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