West Ham's 18-year-old striker Mipo Odubeko scored twice for the under-23 side in a come from behind 2-1 victory over Everton on Monday afternoon at Rush Green.
The forward struggled with injury earlier in the season but has returned to fitness and form for the under-23s and through training with the first team daily is constantly reminding David Moyes of his burgeoning talent.
Odubeko was handed his senior Hammers debut against Stockport in the third round of the FA Cup, coming on in injury time to replace Michail Antonio and said at the time: "[I am] Happy to have made my West Ham debut and more importantly be into the next round! Blessed to be back playing after 4 months out."
Odubeko was given a chance to impress in the FA Cup fifth round against his former club Manchester United. The Irishman replaced injured Andriy Yarmolenko and saw 58 minutes of action before being substituted himself.
It was a tough evening at Old Trafford up against international centre-backs Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof but another learning curve for the striker.
"It’s an honour to get minutes for this club but unfortunately the result didn’t go our way. Yesterday’s game has taught me a lot about myself and the levels I need to produce to obtain my dreams and help the team in the future," he said.
Odubeko added: "A lesson learnt and experience gained that I can only thank the manager for. Thanks to all the fans for the supportive messages. Time to step it up!"
Since then Odubeko has not featured on the pitch for the first team but has been involved in a number of matchday squads and is training with the senior squad on a daily basis.
Following the 2-1 win over Everton Under-23's, Odubeko said he is learning every day from West Ham's England internationals.
"I’m in and around the first team every single day, training with them," he told the club website.
"The form that they’re in… and you see players like Jesse Lingard, Declan Rice, and the stuff that they’re doing. Just watching them day in, day out, and just taking little bits from them, little bits of confidence, it’s good.
"It was good to get a couple of minutes with the first team too. That’s what you want as a kid. I’ve had lots of learning experiences, which is good."
Odubeko also spoke of his ambitions for the under-23 team this season and his own personal aims.
"I want the boys out of the relegation zone fully, get a few more goals, hopefully, get a couple of more minutes in the first team in the Premier League," he said.
"I want to just keep training, improving and learning every single day."
