Recently-crowned 2024/25 Mark Noble Young Hammer of the Year Ollie Scarles is the latest guest to look back at his short but so-far sweet career on Iron Cast, the Club’s official podcast!
The Academy of Football graduate has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign with the Hammers at senior level, clocking up 15 appearances so far in multiple competitions having rapidly progressed through the ranks since joining the Club's youth set-up at the age of eleven.
Before breaking into the first team at London Stadium, defender Scarles had been an instrumental part of the Academy’s success in recent years. A key figure in the squad that won the U18 Premier League South and FA Youth Cup double during the 2022/23 campaign, he also made his senior bow that season, appearing in a 3-0 victory over FCSB in the UEFA Europa Conference League at the age of just 16 years and 326 days.
After impressing throughout our pre-season trips to Kitzbühel and Florida last summer, Scarles was handed his Premier League debut in the 1-1 draw at AFC Bournemouth in December. The talented 19-year-old hasn’t looked back since, establishing himself as an important member of Head Coach Graham Potter’s first-team squad.
While the Hammers will overall not be sorry to say goodbye to the 2024/25 season, Scarles' rise to prominence has certainly been a positive, with his teammates, coaches and the West Ham United supporters all excited about what he could go on to achieve in Claret and Blue, next season and beyond.
Prior to the Irons' final game of the campaign at Ipswich Town on Sunday, our No57 sat down for an exclusive interview on Iron Cast with Chris Scull and Loans Manager Carlton Cole, to reflect on a whirlwind last 12 months.
LISTEN TO THE FULL PODCAST HERE!
Scarles - whose name has been added to the Chadwell Heath Wall of Graduates following his full Premier League debut at Arsenal in February - said: “I was training here from when I was six to about eight. I was training with Chelsea, West Ham and Arsenal, and I chose Chelsea just because of the journey and the fact it was closer to home and so much easier journey-wise. I was there for two years and got released at the end of the U11 season. I had a six-week trial here, and I think I signed within two weeks. It's been the best thing that's ever happened to me, so I can't complain.
“I knew two days before that I was potentially starting [against FCSB in the UEFA Europa Conference League]. We were doing patterns of play in training, and I was in the starting team, and I just couldn't believe it. It was a mad feeling. I mean, 16 years old and you're starting for the first team - I couldn't believe it.
“I turned around to Mark Noble, and I was like, ‘What's going on here?’. And he was like, ‘You're starting, geez’. So yeah, that's when I found out, and then I had to go home from my digs and get my passport and everything so I was ready to travel the next day.”
In the time in between then and the present, Scarles helped the U18s to an U18 Premier League South and FA Youth Cup double in 2023.
He continued: “The FA Youth Cup group was a mix of my age group and the year above. I started almost playing up years, like the U14 and U15 seasons, so that was sort of when I thought, 'This group's got a bit - we're good'. The U18 season was a joke, and some of the players in that group were incredible. We had such a good team.
“It never felt like we were going to lose a game. It was so good to be a part of because it was so positive, and every time we turned up for a game, we had the confidence that we were going to win because we knew we were that good.
“We knew when we went 1-0 down [against Arsenal in the FA Youth Cup final] that that was never the end. We always knew we were going to come back because we had that mindset. There was no chance we were going to lose that game.
“We had such a good relationship with the coaches, so everything just clicked. We had an unbelievable year. I've had loads of coaches that have been influential in my career, people like Kevin Keen in the U18s. I’ve had Coley (Carlton Cole), Robbo (Mark Robson), Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville, too. I could go on and name loads more, but there are so many who have had a big part to play in my career, so hopefully it'll be a long and enjoyable one.”
Scarles’ crowning moment came when he entered the pitch at Vitality Stadium against AFC Bournemouth in December 2024 as a 75th-minute substitute, for his first outing in the Premier League. He has gone on to make 15 appearances in all competitions this term, including his full debut against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on 22 February, where he was voted as the West Ham United Man of the Match following a 1-0 win.
“It's a big step for me, and I’ve made 14 appearances in the Premier League so far,” Scarles added. “I've had seven starts, including the FA Cup game against Aston Villa as well. So I think for me, it's been really positive, especially the second half of the season.
“It's definitely a big jump [from the Academy to the first team]. Realistically, it's taken me two-and-a-half, nearly three years to get to where I am now because I made my debut when I was 16. I went a while just training and not getting many minutes, and it's been a case of working my way back from injury in pre-season and getting my opportunity now.
“Obviously, we've struggled a bit this season, but I think it's just about giving it time, and then hopefully we can all be back where we were before.”
