West Ham look increasingly depleted in attack following the injury suffered by Andriy Yarmolenko.
The £17.5m signing from Borussia Dortmund in 2018 “opened up his knee ligaments” in David Moyes’ words during the Hammers’ 1-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United on Tuesday night.
Operating as a makeshift centre-forward, the Ukrainian was brought off early in a match littered with unfortunate injuries to a number of key personnel – including two defenders in Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop.
However, whilst it is tempting to view Yarmolenko’s injury as yet another squad-based obstacle to the future success of the club, there is equally an opportunity ripe for exploitation.
Despite being substituted back off to make way for a defensive tactical tweak, the FA Cup defeat was a chance for former Manchester United youngster Ademipo Odubeko to enjoy an extended period of game time against his former club.
Admittedly, it was noted that the young talent struggled to impress against the Red Devils, but at just 18 years of age, he could be trusted to step up into regular first team plans despite his lack of experience.
With both Yarmolenko and Michail Antonio ruled out as injury doubts for the foreseeable future, necessity could serve as the engine of change which propels Odubeko into the limelight.
As Moyes’ hand looks increasingly forced by a lack of available centre-forwards, the Hammers will likely find themselves looking to their academy assets.
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Odubeko is front-and-centre as the most obvious youth candidate to fill in the striking void, given his previous senior appearances, and looks set to be a beneficiary of unfortunate circumstances.
Caution should be urged; there is no guarantee that the 18-year-old is cut out for instant success, but the right nurturing, coaching and exposure could prove to be a fortuitous cocktail of boons which could steadily see an increasingly important role for Odubeko in east London.
