Counting down the top youth prospects for West Ham United: #12 - Moses Makasi

Welcome to the latest series from everyone’s favorite, Brace The Hammer. Over 20 writers ranked 32 youth players (21 and under) for West Ham United. We ranked them by assigning each player a max of 20 points, down to 1. The top 15 averages made our list.

Every day, leading up to the start of the season, we will be bringing to you our top fifteen youth academy prospects for West Ham United. Up next, academy product Moses Makasi.

One of our own

The 20 year old midfield stopper is a homegrown product everyone should be excited about. If you follow the careers of many Academy players, you know they come and go from team to team, city to city. Not Moses though. Moses has Hammer blood running through his veins.

Makasi was on scholarship, working his way through the academy ranks until 2014, when West Ham United finally offered the midfielder a professional contract. It wasn’t always easy for Moses. He was labeled a hard worker and a grinder, however, chances were hard to come by.

“I'm very happy, it hasn't all been easy and a lot of hard work has gone into it. Hard work will always get you far in life so hopefully I can push myself and make it to the first team squad.

“I can feel that I've improved. At the start of the season I didn't think I was where I needed to be but now I feel a lot closer to being a first team player, obviously there's still a long way to go."

Academy - U23

After earning his first professional contract in 2014, Moses Makasi wasted no time in proving his worth. In 2015, he made 19 appearances and even bagged a couple of goals. However, it wasn’t until the 2016-17 season did Makasi make the step up and impress Terry Westley. Moses solidified his place as a holding midfielder, while helping the PL2 side achieve promotion.

Future with club

Moses has had a nice run with the lower ranks with West Ham, however, lately he’s run into some trouble with the top squad. In recent friendly matches against Werder Bremen, Slaven Bilic started several youth players, including Moses Makasi. Moses did not impress many fans...

A bit harsh, and a sentiment we certainly don’t agree with. Nothing against these profession pundits on Twitter, but they weren’t looking at the bigger picture. Slaven was playing Makasi as a winger in light of the Martin Samuelsen injury. Of course, I’m not placing all the blame on Slav, but clearly Moses, a defensive midfielder, looked a bit lost on the wing.

At 20 years of age, Moses Makasi has a footballing future ahead of him, but he may be running out of time. A loan away from the club isn’t out of the question, and something that might benefit the young midfielder. Personally, I’m a bit worried Slav was trying to force him into a position he doesn’t have a natural feel for. When trying to fit square pegs in round holes, you’re bound to be disappointed.

Let’s hope another year under the watchful eye of Terry Westley guides this promising player towards the potential we’ve seen glimpses of.