Summary West Ham lost Declan RIce in the summer but have another academy graduate leading the charge to replace him. He's been a Hammer since he was five and has valuable leadership skills. The immense talent can feature in defence or in midfield.
When West Ham United lifted the Europa Conference League trophy in June, the euphoria of a momentous occasion was tinged with a hint of poignancy, with the begrudging acceptance that coveted midfielder Declan Rice had made his swansong.
It was the culmination of several years of hard work, with David Moyes' appointment at the 2019/20 campaign's midpoint resulting in a rise from the bottom half of the Premier League, fighting for survival, to successive Europen endeavours, with a third now forthcoming.
Rice's eventual sale was inevitable, the England international is regarded in the top stratosphere of talents across Europe and earned a transfer to high-flying Arsenal for £105m in July, joining last season's title challengers and earning a spot in this year's Champions League.
Mohammed Kudus
£38m
Edson Alvarez
£35m
James Ward-Prowse
£30m
Konstantinos Mavropanos
£17m
Sean Moore
N/A
All fees sourced via Sky Sports.
Hailed as the "midfield general" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, the 24-year-old has gone from strength to strength and is rated as the second-most valuable central midfielder in the world by Football Transfers, behind only prodigious compatriot Jude Bellingham.
Not easily replaced by any stretch of the imagination, Moyes has spread his presence across the midfield and made a range of impressive acquisitions, but the Hammers could have the next version of their academy talent currently rising to the fore in 18-year-old Kaelan Casey.
Who is Kaelan Casey?
After enjoying something of an emergence last season with West Ham's development squad, Casey wedged his way into Moyes' first-team reckoning and made his senior debut against FCSB in the Europa Conference League group phase, also making the bench against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
Remarked to be among a youth cluster “other clubs are envious of” by the Athletic's Roshane Thomas, Casey is an experienced member of the academy movement in east London, chalking up 69 displays to date.
A 'battling and imposing centre-half' – as stated on the official club profile when the teenager signed a new long-term deal last month – Casey has been an Iron since he was five and started all six fixtures as the U18s won the FA Youth Cup last May.
There are some striking similarities to Casey and his now-departed peer Rice, and as such, could the Hammers be on for their latest version of the distinguished England phenom?
Is Kaelen Casey similar to Declan Rice?
This season, in Premier League 2, Casey has captained the Irons development squad to three successive victories, scoring in a 5-2 rout over Leeds United, after losing to Arsenal in the opening match.
A hulking defender, the 6 foot 3 Casey cites Rice as his role model and given that he is naturally a centre-back but can also prosper in midfield.
“He’s always been a defender,” his father revealed to the Athletic. “But he can play as a centre midfielder if need be."
Given that Rice captained West Ham's youth side in the year preceding his emergence to the first team as a teenager and also originally plied his trade from central defence, it really looks like the Hammers can guide a ready-made replica to prominence over the next few years.
While it's often a fool's game to prematurely wax lyrical over rising starlets, there is cause for excitement at the London Stadium and while it is important to nurture Casey at an apt pace, his skills are evident and the current campaign could be a real breakthrough term for him, perhaps the start of an ascent reminiscent of Rice's.
