For a long time, West Ham have been known for having one of the best academy setups in English football. Their home for emerging young talents is even nicknamed the ‘academy of football’. Many former first team players who went on to have excellent careers, such as Frank Lampard and Rio Ferdinand, as well as some of the current first team players like Declan Rice and Ben Johnson have all progressed through the club’s academy.

Making Waves

In recent years, another highly rated young footballer has been making waves in the academy through his performances at different age groups, recently making his debut for the first team. This lad, Sonny Perkins, has been tipped to reach the top and have a long, successful career.

Sonny Perkins is a life-long East Londoner. Growing up in Hackney, he began his youth career at Leyton Orient, joining the O’s academy at the age of eight. Sonny is left-footed, creative, and he regularly played against players in the older age groups during his first few years in the academy setup.

After impressing in his early teenage years, Perkins was invited for a trial at Manchester City. The experience was unfortunately a negative one for the youngster after a lack of gametime during the four matches he was selected for. Following this frustration, the youngster decided to stay close to home and when Perkins was 15, West Ham came calling and offered him a trial.

Perkins made the most of this opportunity, impressing coaches and earning a move to the Premier League club’s academy where he has been developing since. At the age of 16, after impressing in three substitute appearances for Kevin Keen’s under-18s side, Perkins signed his first scholarship deal with the club.

Stepping Up To The Plate

The youth talent has featured regularly for the club’s Under-18s side. Playing primarily as an attacking midfielder but also capable of featuring out wide, recently Perkins has played as a forward due to several injuries to strikers in the squad.

Perkins started this season with a hat-trick for the Under 18s in a 3-1 win against Reading and has since made appearances in the EFL trophy, including in a 2-1 away win at Ipswich Town. Along with his success in the Under 18s, the young star has made the step up to the Under 23’s and shown his quality as a striker, making nine appearances in Premier League 2 and scoring five goals. Perkins has also represented England at youth level, making appearances at under 16, under 17 and under 18 level for the three lions.

Debuting In Europe

Perkins travelled with West Ham’s first team squad recently for their Europa League group stage away tie against Rapid Vienna. He made his first team debut for the Hammers as he replaced club legend and fellow academy graduate Mark Noble. The youngster was only given 13 minutes but seemed eager to impress and make an impact. He was unlucky not to score a debut goal as his late header was saved well by Vienna keeper Paul Gartler.

In an interview after the game, Sonny told West Ham TV: “I’ve been working hard and I’ve got a reward for it”. However, he was clearly disappointed not to have scored in his short cameo: “it would’ve been a great moment”, he added. West Ham boss David Moyes explained his decision for Perkins’ selection. “If he and the other young players keep going as well for the under 23s, I will keep giving them chances”.

Sonny Perkins warming up
Sonny Perkins warming up in the Premier League match against Brighton & Hove Albion (Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images)

Players of Perkins’ age, with such potential, are often sent out on loan to other clubs to gain crucial first team experience, a few managers are likely to have the talented youngster on their radar. However due to the Hammers current lack of depth up front, with fixtures coming thick and fast, and first team players likely to be rested for different games, Perkins could be given more first-team opportunities very soon.

Main image: Perkins receives a handshake from Hammers’ legend Mark Noble after Perkins’ West Ham debut (photo by Christian Hofer/Getty Images)