5 of the best West Ham academy graduates ever
While West Ham’s days aren’t as good as they used once used to be some decades ago, the Hammers have succeeded in establishing themselves as a regular top-flight club over the past few seasons. And while the club is still a largely recognisable one in the country, it has obviously lost its shine in the global arena.
Despite that, the club still hasn’t lost its knack for producing quality English players by making perfect use of its famed youth academy. The East Londoners have handed loads of youngsters the right platform to grow, including the great World Cup winner Bobby Moore, who was at the club for 18 years during the glittering career.
It’s not just him that West Ham have produced with excellence par none. And we run the rule over players who have been the Hammers’ best academy graduates in recent times.
#5 Jermain Defoe
Having recently joined Bournemouth on a free transfer following Sunderland’s condemnation to the Championship, this would be Defoe’s second stint at Dean Court with the previous one coming being a loan spell back in the 2000-2001 campaign. It came when Defoe was a West Ham player, but the spell at Bournemouth saw the Englishman make a breakthrough for the very first time.
Defoe plied his trade with the Hammers from 1999 to 2004 and ended up making as many as 93 appearances, finding the back of the net 29 times after having joined as a 16-year-old. The earlier spell at Bournemouth saw Defoe became the club’s highest goal-getter for that season and convinced many into believing that the Hammers had a proper player on their hands.
The platform allowed by West Ham allowed Defoe to seal a move to Premier League giants Tottenham, where he went onto play twice and enjoyed the best of his career at White Hart Lane. The Englishman also helped Spurs to qualify for the Champions League in the 2009-10 campaign.