Despite being a part of the club for several years now, Alex Pike is relatively unknown to the West Ham faithful. The Englishman first joined the Academy as an Under-11, and continued progressing with the club through his educational years. Now an 18-year-old, Pike recently signed his first ever professional contract for the Hammers, signalling his loyalty to the institution that helped him through his youth.
For the past twelve months or so, the youngster has been playing his football with the Under-18 and Under-21 squad. Having recorded one goal and two assists in 13 appearances from defence, it is evident why Pike has been placed on the first team radar. He also possesses terrific versatility, shown in the 2-1 win over Patrick Vieira’s Manchester City in which he did his job for the team and filled in the role as a central defensive midfielder.
The arrival of new manager Slaven Bilic is an opportunity for every player to work under a clean slate with a fresh start. Pike was handed his first team debut by the Croat, in a recent club friendly against League One side Peterborough United. Wearing the number 66 shirt, he enjoyed a role in his favoured right-back position for the Irons. After the game, I was lucky enough to catch up with the man himself.
What was it like playing in a defence alongside the senior likes of Aaron Cresswell and Winston Reid?
‘It was a great experience to play with such good players that play regularly in the first team. You learn a lot from them and they help you to improve, which is good for me.’
As the right-back position in the first team is up for grabs, is this something you hope to fight for?
‘There is still an experienced right back in Joey O’Brien and still a chance that the club will buy someone. But I aim to progress and get better this year so it’s not impossible and hopefully if I work at the areas of my game that I need to, I may be in with a chance.’
Looking specifically at the U21 team, do you think the Development Squad are capable of bouncing back and winning promotion?
‘I think that we can definitely bounce back this year. We have some good players in the U21 squad, as a team we are more than capable of working hard to win our division and get promotion.’
And finally, what are you most excited about ahead of the new season?
‘I can’t wait to get back out on the pitch and start playing games. I’m looking forward to playing different teams that will provide slightly different challenges for us, and hopefully we can do well and work our way back into the top division.‘
