The Academy of Football’s loan stars returned to Chadwell Heath last week as they took a break from their busy schedules to catch up with fellow players and staff.
In total, seven players made the trips back from their respective loan clubs to East London, including Josh Cullen, Reece Burke and Martin Samuelsen.
The day started with a talk from Academy Director Terry Westley who went through each player’s development plans as well as watching through some highlights from the individual’s performances during their loan spells.
The players then headed outside for a brief and very light training session before coming back inside for a full Sunday roast, as they caught up with each other over lunch.
Westley was keen to stress the importance of the day and said he hoped the players would take a huge amount for the experience.
“The purpose of this day is to get everyone back together and remind them that they’re West Ham players,” he said.
“Sometimes, these days remind us of the quality we have at the Club who are out on loan.
“Our U23s and U18s are doing very well this season and we’re holding our own here but you cannot forget about the quality we have out there.”
The Academy of Football puts in a lot of hard work to make sure they are up to date on the progress of the players they have out on loan.
Westley was keen to stress the importance of the day and said he hoped the players would take a huge amount for the experience.
“The purpose of this day is to get everyone back together and remind them that they’re West Ham players,” he said.
“Sometimes, these days remind us of the quality we have at the Club who are out on loan.
“Our U23s and U18s are doing very well this season and we’re holding our own here but you cannot forget about the quality we have out there.”
The Academy of Football puts in a lot of hard work to make sure they are up to date on the progress of the players they have out on loan.
Their continuous graft and commitment to developing young players has paid off, as the appearance numbers of Academy players in the West Ham United First Team and at other clubs on loan has massively increased over the past few seasons.
“The Club has been brilliant. Everyone at the Academy has been in constant contact with us, making sure everything is alright,” said Josh Cullen, currently on loan at Bradford City.
“We had the meeting this morning and you can see how in-depth they go into match reports. There is someone at every game watching us so they’re keeping close tabs on us and that’s good to know.”
“Terry, Liam, everyone at West Ham are doing a great job following the progress of the loan players,” added Martin Samuelsen, currently on loan at Blackburn Rovers.
“Today, getting all the players in together is really good and beneficial. I couldn’t praise them (the Academy) enough.”
“The Club has been brilliant. Everyone at the Academy has been in constant contact with us, making sure everything is alright,” said Josh Cullen, currently on loan at Bradford City.
“We had the meeting this morning and you can see how in-depth they go into match reports. There is someone at every game watching us so they’re keeping close tabs on us and that’s good to know.”
“Terry, Liam, everyone at West Ham are doing a great job following the progress of the loan players,” added Martin Samuelsen, currently on loan at Blackburn Rovers.
“Today, getting all the players in together is really good and beneficial. I couldn’t praise them (the Academy) enough.”