West Ham United may not be in the greatest moment but George Earthy's Premier League debut – while horribly ruined by a head injury that sent him to hospital – spoke of David Moyes' trust in the club's most exciting academy options.

Declan Rice is the title of the big success story from West Ham's teenage production line in modern times, and after completing a £105m transfer to Arsenal last summer, the world-class England star looks to have paved a trail for a successor.

An attacking midfielder, Earthy has posted 12 goals and ten assists for the U21s this season and has been hailed for his "brilliant" displays by club insider EXWHUemployee, making his first-team debut against Freiburg in March.

He's not a deep-lying player but Earthy might not have been afforded the chance to make an impression against Fulham had Kalvin Phillips not been injured.

Then again, perhaps his recent promotion to the senior squad highlights the track the club is taking, pushing their wayward loanee to the sidelines.

Kalvin Phillips' season in numbers

Phillips signed for West Ham on loan from Manchester City in January after making just two Premier League starts for Pep Guardiola's team after joining from Leeds United for £45m back in 2022.

While a certain amount of rustiness was to be expected after a protracted period of inactivity, Phillips has only served to soil the Hammers' performances and has been rebuked for his ineffective efforts and series of mistakes.

He's an industrious midfielder and an established England international but it's highly unlikely that West Ham will even entertain the notion of his permanent transfer, having played just 21 minutes in the top-flight over United's past five games.

Now that Earthy has paved the way, Phillips could be kept on the sidelines for the remainder of the campaign by providing Kaelan Casey, a more like-for-like player, with the chance to impress.

Why West Ham must unleash Kaelan Casey

Casey, aged 19, actually made his first-team debut for West Ham last season, featuring in the closing stage of the outfit's Europa Conference League victory over FCSB in the group phase, taking ten touches, completing six of eight attempted passes and winning two of his three contested aerial duels, as per Sofascore.

To date, he hasn't doubled his senior appearance tally, despite sitting on the bench on eight occasions in all competitions this season.

Principally deployed as a centre-back, Casey has also impressed in midfield and having captained a successful U21s team to title contention in the Premier League 2 this season, featuring 18 times, he is nearing readiness for a jump to the top level.

Matches played

5

Pass completion

83%

Touches per game

70.2

Tackles per game

1.4

Ball recoveries per game

5.4

Interceptions per game

1.0

Clearances per game

4.6

Duels won per game

4.6 (77%)

In the EFL Trophy, against senior opposition, Casey excelled this term and demonstrated his robust defensive skill set with immense powers of recovery and precision in the duel.

With the likes of Edson Alvarez, Tomas Soucek and James Ward-Prowse all enjoying important roles in the centre of the park for Moyes side, Casey could be the perfect player to now unleash throughout the final stretch of the campaign, ensuring Phillips is not fielded again.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast's In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.