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Yann Karamoh is the type of player Slaven Bilic would love to not use.
He’s versatile, able to play on both wings, as well as in front of goal. The ever-reputable The Sun has reported West Ham have offered SM Caen a fee of £8.75m. Several other clubs are pursuing the lad including recent German heavyweight RB Leipzig, and French side AS Monaco.
So who is this Karamoh Kid©?
Yann spent the 2015 season with SM Caen’s B squad where he focused on developing those good ole fundamentals. Clearly impressing quite a few in the organization, 2016-2017 saw him rise to the first team where he was regularly featured on the front line. Shifting from wing to wing, Karamoh notched 5 assists and 4 goals. He’s also been featured on both France’s U19 team, and U21s. For you FIFA fanatics, he’s currently rated 70, with a potential of 86.
The Karamoh Kid© definitely has a future, it’s just a matter of where.
If I were Yann, I would take a hard look at how each club approaches there youth system. Who is getting playtime? What’s the approach towards development? Where can I best flourish and advance my career? If we’re being honest with those questions - West Ham United would not be first on my list. We’ve all seen what AS Monaco did with giving their youth players a chance. Kylian Mbappé is barely 17 years of age. While a rare talent, he’s not the only player who was given first team action. Thomas Lemar only just turned 21 and Benjamin Mendy 22.
RB Leipzig is no different. Newly acquired Oliver Burke, then just 19, saw 17 appearances for first team action.
Slaven Bilic and West Ham United’s overall approach to youth players needs to change. Sure, when David Gold says that is unlikely a teen will break into the squad, we have to read between the lines.
I think we all have to except that it is extremely unlikely that a teenager will break into a PL team full of seasoned international. dg https://t.co/R0c1SimdVr
— David Gold (@davidgold) May 20, 2017
David is saying here that we should play the veterans, as they are currently better. That alone shows a fundamental flaw in the club’s attitude towards the youth. Of course the youth players aren’t going to be better than every veteran on the field, but you need to give them that exposure so they have the opportunity to do just that.
If I were Yann Karamoh, I’d look elsewhere. Let’s hope he has less sense.