West Ham’s Under-23 manager Ricky Martin has lauded the Hammers’ Young Player of the Year Nathan Holland and backed the youngster to make his full debut during the 2020/21 season.
Holland was awarded the Young Player of Year at the club, following in the footsteps of previous winner Declan Rice, who has gone on to establish himself as the Hammers' brightest talent.
The 22-year old was chosen over many other candidates who all ply their trade at the London Stadium, but Holland was eventually picked for his rapid progress at the club.
Academy manager Martin stressed Holland is a deserving winner and highlighted his 2019/20 season, as the youngster went out on loan to Oxford United and helped in their efforts to get into the playoffs.
Martin feels Holland now has the experience and calibre to fight for his place in the first team and believes if he keeps working and keeps his head down, he could have his full debut in the upcoming season.
“Nathan is a fully deserving winner; he’s had his opportunity to play in the first team at Wolves, he went away on loan, and on top of that he’s been a really strong performer with the U23s”, he told the club's official site.
“He’s had an amazing impact with what he’s done in U23s football, but now he’s got to make that step into senior football.
"He did that when he went on loan to Oxford with his performances and goals and he played a big part in getting them into the playoffs.
“Nathan now comes back and has got to fight his way into the first-team squad.
"We’re there to support him and hopefully he keeps going, keeps training hard, keeps playing well – and he’ll have a good chance of getting his full debut this season.
“There were also other players we considered who have pushed him for winning it, so the future here looks very bright.”
Holland made 10 League One appearances for Oxford during the 2019/20 season, scoring two goals in the process.
