da brwin： The plaudits are coming in already for Sam Byram.
da doce： The 22-year-old has had a whirlwind week, hasn’t he? He only signed for West Ham from Leeds United on Wednesday and although he didn’t expect to be in involved against Manchester City on Saturday, due to an injury James Tomkins, Sam was on the bench. The meteoric rise didn’t end there though, and as Carl Jenkinson went off in the early stages of the game, Byram got his chance.
And he took it by all accounts. Confident touches, nice plays from the back; at this point he looks a steal for just under £4m.
[ffc-gal cat=”west-ham” no=”5″]
It certainly helps West Ham to have Byram at the club now. The Hammers were going to wait until the summer and by then Byram would have been out of contract, but Everton forced the Claret and Blue hand. David Sullivan acted straight away and West Ham got his man.
It’s a good match for West Ham and it helps West Ham now because of a lamentable season from Jenkinson. After he signed his mega-deal with parent club Arsenal, the player hasn’t been the same man that he was under Allardyce.
You can argue that the system employed by Bilic is very different to Allardyce’s, but they are professional footballers and paid a ton of money. Are you telling me they can’t adapt? Or is it that Jenkinson wanted to impress his Arsenal bosses last season to gain a better contract and now that it’s there, the foot is off the gas and it’s a different attitude.
I don’t know. All I know is that the fans at West Ham have grown impatient with Jenkinson and there’s even the possibility of Jenkinson being sent back to The Emirates sooner than May.
Byram has won acclaim in The Championship for his style of play and talent, and he is a perfect fit at right-back for The Hammers. Due to Jenkinson’s inconsistency, James Tomkins has covered that position admirably, even though it is not his favoured position.
Now with Byram, Tomkins can go back to the centre, unless Bilic feels it’s too much too soon for the youngster. West Ham also have Joey O’Brien, but he is often injured and probably on his way in the summer. Byram is the future.
So Sam Byram, the Essex born defender who moved north as a child and ended up at Elland Road, is now a Premier League player. After 130 appearances for Leeds and the odd few goals as well, his attacking style of play from deep attracted more than a few Premier League clubs.
At 22 he has a long way to go and will probably learn and develop better at West Ham than anywhere else. It’s obvious that Bilic doesn’t just have his eye on the here and now at West Ham, but the future of the club as well. A number of young Hammers have caught the eye and many were given opportunities at the beginning of their Europa League campaign.
Many of those are now on loan and gaining that experience and development that Bilic can utilise in the future. The likes of Diego Poyet, Reece Oxford, Reece Burke and Elliot Lee will strengthen West Ham’s depth of squad and you can see future England Internationals as well.
So what’s next for Sam Byram?
He will certainly get more game time at West Ham than he would have had at Everton. Seamus Coleman at right-back is one of the better Premier League players in that position, so his chances would have been limited. At West Ham and with their move to the new stadium, the future for both club and player is bright, but this one game is only the beginning.
WANT MORE? >> West Ham transfer news | Latest transfer news
If he can break into the first-team consistently, keep playing like he did on Saturday and keep the hunger alive, not only will he help West Ham to achieve greater things, but he will also help the England team to do the same in the future.
Let’s not get carried away, though. He has made a name for himself at Leeds and done very well. He has played one Premier League game and done very well, but now he needs to show that he can maintain and improve those standards every week and only then can he be judged on whether he is a hit or a miss.
If he can carry on and be the player many expect, then the English game wins, not just West Ham.
With a shortage of talent for the national team to choose from, players like Byram will stand out and stake a claim for international caps. West Ham are making inroads in signing English players as well as foreign, and Bilic appears keen to develop the Academy talent and also to buy in homegrown stars.
The future for Byram is bright, and it’s also Claret and Blue.
[ad_pod id=’writeforus’ align=’center’]