West Ham faces a centre back crisis ahead of their next Premier League match against Arsenal, with Craig Dawson suspended and Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna injured.

This could leave a door ajar for a young prospect in the Hammers academy to make the step up and give David Moyes a selection headache.

The onus could fall on Aji Alese but another such player is Levi Laing, the 19-year-old centre back who has featured for the West Ham U23 squad ten times in the Premier League 2 as well as making an appearance in the EFL Trophy in September.

The defender signed his first professional contract back in July 2021 and this runs until 2023, with the option of an extra year. His U23 coach Dmitri Halajko stated: “The progress that he’s made in such a short period of time has been really positive”. The future looks bright for the youngster.

This wasn’t the only praise exuded by admirers, with Mark Robson explaining that Laing was “outstanding” following a performance against Exeter in a 3-0 win for the U23s.

West Ham have been fantastic this season, but with so many games played in Europe and domestically, there is injuries at the heart of the defence, and with Dawson suspended for the next Premier League match, Moyes should have no clams about putting Laing in the mix.

Ogbonna is fast approaching 34 and with his contract expiring at the end of the season, plus his injury woes, there is absolutely no reason why the young Englishman can’t be the long-term heir to the towering centreback in the near future.

Both players are over 6 foot 1 and have a commanding presence in the air. With Ogbonna and Laing sharing traits such as height and the way they play, then it could be an effortless change.

Moyes could end up saving the club millions in the transfer market too, despite European success bringing in added revenue, the future could look bright for the Hammers.

AND in other news, Sources: West Ham eye swoop for "brilliant" 21 y/o, he's "similar to Eden Hazard