Brothers on Trial with West Ham Academy
Go back to the late 1990’s and there were two brothers creating a buzz around West Ham’s academy. Fast-forward to 2017 and history could be repeating itself, with another pair or siblings looking to follow in the footsteps of Rio and Anton Ferdinand.
JJ and Jesse Nwabueze, 16 and 13-years-old respectively, were scouted at our football trial in October and both were invited to the club’s training ground for further assessment.
Harry, who accompanied the players to our event, explained: “West Ham saw them at UK Football Trials and they were scouted.
“We got an email from the club shortly after and they said they would like to invite them down for a trial.”
He continued: “Obviously it’s a different level to what they’re used to back home in Ireland, but they’ve both made improvements already.
“It’s a good situation for the family and we’re all excited and happy for the boys.”
JJ initially trained with the development squad for around a month, before the club offered him the chance to train with West Ham u18’s academy team.
Jesse meanwhile has been training with the u14’s for several weeks – the last couple of months have changed the lives of the brothers drastically.
“We thought UK Football Trials were really good,” revealed Harry.
“It gave them a good opportunity to play football in front of scouts.
“They’re just two young lads who have lived in England for a couple of weeks, with no pro club background, and then all of a sudden they are at West Ham.”
The West Ham scout who was present at our trials and invited JJ and Jesse in, praised the pair.
He said: “The fact JJ is training with the u18’s is a really, really good sign that he’s doing well. To get two brothers from the same trial, both good enough for West Ham is quite rare and they both seem to have settled in well.”