West Ham United are a club famed for their production of exciting young talent, with the club's most notable success story in recent times having seen midfield star Declan Rice emerge from the academy set-up to become a leading figure in the first-team.

Plucked by the Hammers at the age of 14 following his release by London rivals Chelsea, the Englishman subsequently went on to make his debut at the tail end of the 2016/17 season, having not looked back since after going from strength to strength in recent years.

Hailed as the "best central midfield player in the country" by pundit Paul Parker last season, the 23-year-old has regularly been linked to the Premier League's elite clubs as a result of his impressive displays for both his club and at international level, notably featuring in all seven games of the Three Lions' Euro 2020 campaign.

The 34-cap sensation has grown to such importance for the Irons that he was even named captain following Mark Noble's retirement at the end of last term, despite his relative youth, with manager David Moyes suggesting that his star asset could now be worth as much as £150m.

With doubts over the £60k-per-week machine's long-term future at the club, however - with his current deal set to expire in the summer of 2024 - the focus will now likely be on finding a suitable replacement, with it set to be a sizeable hole to fill once the Kingston-born menace does depart.

Rather than looking to the transfer market as a solution, however, the London Stadium outfit could well save themselves millions by instead turning towards the academy, with the case of Rice showcasing the benefits of promoting from within.

One impressive youngster who could well take the West Ham captain's place in the side in the coming years is Pierre Ekwah, with the 20-year-old having caught the eye at youth level of late, having joined from Stamford Bridge last summer.

The defensive midfielder was lauded by journalist Alan Rzepa at the time of his arrival, who stated that the emerging prospect "is going to be insane" for the east Londoners in the future, with the current evidence suggesting that that prophecy could well become reality.

The exciting Frenchman has already scored seven goals and provided one assist from his 35 games at U21 level over the past year or so, including three goals in just eight appearances at Premier League 2 level so far this term.

The versatile ace - who like Rice can also be deployed at centre-back - is yet to feature at senior level thus far, although was named on the bench for the Europa Conference League qualifying games against Viborg back in August.

A France U20 international, Ekwah looks set to be a player who could well make the step up to join Moyes' ranks in the coming months and years, with the hope being that he can follow in Rice's footsteps and become a key figure for the Hammers, while also leaving the Blues to pay for their mistake once again in letting such a quality young asset depart.