Three West Ham players that staked a first team claim with their midweek U21 performance

West Ham United endured a frankly embarrassing start to the season when they slumped to a 4-0 loss against Manchester United.

The Hammers were never really in the game and severely missed the likes of Manuel Lanzini, Cheikhou Kouyate and Michail Antonio.

One of the few shining lights, though, was the performance of youngster Declan Rice.

The 18-year-old stood out in midfield when he came on in the second half and perhaps paved the way for other youngsters to follow.

There are spots up for grabs when the Irons travel to Southampton this Saturday and Slaven Bilic undoubtedly cast his eye over several players during the under-21 team’s midweek win over Swindon Town.

The young West Ham side claimed a 3-2 victory with goals coming from Martin Samuelsen, Moses Makasi and Dan Kemp.

Here are three players that staked a claim for first team action this weekend with their performances against Swindon…

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Sead Haksabanovic

Sead Haksabanovic played his first ever game for West Ham after joining from Halmstads recently and he impressed in the attacking midfield regions.

The Montenegro international was a constant threat and rattled the bar with a decent strike.

The 18-year-old was taken off halfway through the second half – was this a precaution ahead of a place on the bench this weekend?

Martin Samuelsen

Another attacking midfielder that impressed was Martin Samuelsen, who made his long anticipated return after undergoing throat surgery.

The Norway international scored the opener with a well taken goal as he rounded the Swindon ‘keeper and rolled the ball into an empty net.

As well as grabbing the goal, Samuelsen proved a threat with his forward runs, skill and dribbling ability.

West Ham had no midfielders on the bench against Manchester United and if Antonio and Lanzini are still injured then perhaps the 20-year-old could be handed his chance.

Toni Martinez

Following an impressive pre-season with West Ham’s first team, many expected Toni Martinez to play a part in the opening game of the season.

Although the Spain youth international did not score against Swindon, he led the line well, caused problems to their defence and hit the post at the death (which Kemp scored the rebound from).

If Bilic fancies another striker on the bench, he cannot look past the talented 20-year-old, who has done more than enough to prove that he is good enough to compete in the first team.