West Ham have been a shadow of their former selves this campaign and have failed to replicate the impressive form that helped them secure consecutive top-half finishes in the previous two seasons.
One of the reasons for their disappointing demise has been their patchy form in front of goal. The Hammers have only found the net on 27 occasions in 29 league attempts this term.
Furthermore, the current crop of strikers which includes Gianluca Scamacca, Danny Ings, and Michail Antonio has only netted eight goals between them. None of this trio have produced any noteworthy performances, with Scamacca and Antonio particularly struggling for any kind of consistency.
This situation has left manager David Moyes desperately scratching his head for a solution, but a possible answer could come in the form of academy product Divin Mubama, who has formed a phenomenal reputation in the youth ranks.
Who is Divin Mubama?
The 18-year-old striker has been at the Irons since 2013 and has risen through various youth sides. This season, the youngster has netted 26 goals in 31 appearances to become one of the Hammers’ most exciting assets.
This included a recent hattrick in the recent, emphatic FA Youth Cup semi-final thrashing over Southampton to underline his incredible potential. This meant that this is the first West Ham side to reach the FA Youth Cup final since the 1999 side containing the likes of Joe Cole and Michael Carrick.
Moyes has already deployed the forward for the first team this season and he scored his first senior goal in a 4-0 victory over AEK Larnaca in the Europa Conference League.
The former Manchester United boss was delighted with Mubama’s first professional goal and said:
“Nothing gives you more pleasure than giving young players an opportunity. He runs and he does the work and doesn’t think twice about his effort. He’s done really well.”
The Englishman also made his Premier League debut when he came on for a late cameo against title-chasing Arsenal on boxing day.
It may be time to start integrating his generational talent into the first team on a more regular basis, especially while new-signing Scamacca is enduring a torrid first season in England.
The Italian has only managed three league goals in his debut league season, which has been ravaged by injury and erratic finishing.
It could be a masterstroke for Moyes to invest more trust in this gifted youngster, who has shown his undeniable pedigree across various levels and competitions this season.