We might well be seeing more of Conor Coventry.
The central midfielder's performances have played a large part in West Ham under-18s excellent form this season, so much so that - still aged just 16 - he earned a call-up to the under-23s for last night's Premier League 2 game with Fulham at London Stadium.
The English-born Ireland under-17 international marked his reserves bow in style, starting and finishing a neat one-two in the dying minutes. His celebration was a picture, and made all the better by the fact that he resembled a boy among men. Of course, he is literally just a boy, but produced a mature move and finish here.
Great one-two!@ConorCoventry bagged a debut goal and our U23's second of the night in slick style!
? #COYI pic.twitter.com/upfOyupqh4— West Ham United (@WestHamUtd) February 20, 2017
89: GOALLLLL!!!!
What a debut for @conorcoventry as he bursts through and slots past Joronen!
[2-0] #PL2 #COYI— West Ham United (@WestHam) February 20, 2017
Coventry has earned consistent call-ups for the Ireland under-17s, who can count Keith Andrews amongst their coaching setup. The 17s reached the Elite Round of qualifying for the European Championships at the end of last year with three wins from three, and will face Slovakia and the Faroes for a place in Croatia.
Speaking to West Ham's website in November, Coventry said of his experience playing for Colin O'Brien and Andrews' 17s:
Playing for the Ireland '17s has helped me a lot, playing against a higher level of players. Learning different tactical approaches and roles inside a team. We've done well in our friendlies and we've won all of our games in our first qualification round against Kazakhstan, Greece and Andorra, so we're confident and looking forward to the next round.
Andrew told Balls that he's 'delighted' for Coventry, who initially joined West Ham's academy just over four years ago.
Video via West Ham United. You can watch highlights of their u23s' victory over Fulham here.
