We have been drawn against West Ham United under-21s in the group stage of this competition for a second year in a row, and it was this time last year I was saying the takeover was bound to happen any
time soon. It turned out that it didn’t happen for another eight months but it happened at least!
A draw against last season’s playoff semi-finalists Stockport County was a good result for Reading on Saturday, despite being second-best for most of the match. Jack Marriott scored a fourth goal in his first four starts, becoming the first player to do in the club’s entire history.
The young Hammers side won their first game in the Vertu Trophy, beating MK Dons, 5-1 while Reading lost 3-2 to rivals Swindon Town. It was a 3-1 victory for the Royals last season with Jayden Wareham, Kelvin Abrefa and Tyler Sackey scoring the goals, despite Harlee Dean’s own goal.
A bit like last season I will bring up a few key players for West Ham, but this time hopefully they actually appear. I will also mention a few to have played for the West Ham academy and Reading, and I will give my lineup!
What? Vertu Trophy, group stage, game two
Season? 2025/26
Who? West Ham United under-21s
Where? Select Car Leasing Stadium
When? Tuesday September 30
Time? 19:00
Opposition manager? Mark Robson
West Ham’s ones to watch
There are a few players that have performed well this season for West Ham’s academy and a few that stood out against MK Dons. Here they are.
Freddie Potts is the one I spoke about last year and he ended up not even being on the bench. At 22, he’s one of the seniors for the Hammers’ under-21s, but he is a great player.
Having made 36 appearances on loan at Wycombe Wanderers (2023/24), and 37 at Portsmouth (2024/25), he has become a solid Championship midfielder and will be a difficult player to handle.
According to WhoScored, his strengths include his aerial duels, through balls and ball interception. However, he plays the ball off the ground too often and his overall passing isn’t the best.
Next up it’s Mohamadou Kante. He looks to be the next big thing at West Ham and I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes it into the starting 11 at some point this season.
Having bought him from Paris FC last season, West Ham loaned him back to them, where he made six appearances. He has been likened to N’Golo Kante and, having watched some highlights, he has more of a build like Claude Makelele, but has the same mentality as Kante.
Second to last, it’s Preston Fearon. He scored twice from the right-hand side against MK Dons and looked a real threat.
West Ham fans were raving about him just after their 3-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur. Although he has not scored in the PL2 this season, he does have an assist, and is starting a few more games since the thrashing of MK Dons.
Finally, it’s Callum Marshall, who also scored two goals against MK Dons. Last season the 20-year-old played 43 games for Huddersfield Town, scoring nine goals, and looked a dangerous player. He played 90 minutes at Reading last season, failing to score in a 2-1 loss for the Terriers, but he created the most chances in the game with three.
Players who played for both
Naturally, it would be easy for me to mention players who have played for both West Ham and Reading. So I have dug a little deeper this time and will mention players to have played for the Royals and the West Ham academy (this took me ages).
In my opinion, the most famous player to do it is Anton Ferdinand. Playing 163 times for West Ham’s first team, he scored five goals and got two assists. He then moved to Reading in 2014 where he made 26 appearances, getting no goals or assists.
Finally, it’s Reece Oxford. He is one who actually played under-21 football for both clubs. He made 46 appearances for West Ham’s under-21s and 17 for the first team before moving to German club Augsburg on a permanent move, which is where he was until this summer. He’s now a free agent.
Oxford was on loan at Reading before that though, making five appearances in the first team but failing to provide any goal contributions. He also played once for the Royals’ under-21s in Premier League 2.
My lineup
I don’t like the rules of the Vertu Trophy as it states that four ‘qualifying players’ have to be included among the 10 starting outfielders. A qualifying player is someone who:
- Started the previous first-team fixture
- Starts the next first-team fixture
- Is among the top 10 players at the club for the number of first-team starts this season
- Has made at least 40 first-team or international starts (not limited to the same club or season)
- Is on loan from a Premier League club or an EFL one with a Category 1 academy
That makes it really difficult to predict who is going to start, but let’s give it a go.
Jack Stevens will start in goal.
Ashqar Ahmed, Michael Stickland, Finley Burns and John Ryan should be the defence.
The midfield should be Tyler Sackey, Tivonge Rushesha and Kamari Doyle.
The attack should be Joe Barough, Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan and Mark O’Mahony.
Score prediction: 3-1 Royals!
Good luck to those going to the game!
Come on you Royals!
