'Better Than Anderson': West Ham Fans Take to Twitter to Praise In-Form Youth Team Player

West Ham fans have taken to social media to rave about youth prospect Xande Silva, who has been impressing in the Premier Lea.

Whilst the first team have been struggling in the Premier League, sitting in 16th with just three points, Silva has been playing outstandingly for the West Ham youth team.

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He only signed for the club in the summer, but has already scored five goals in five appearances. This includes a hat-trick against rivals Spurs, something which will definitely get even the most critical of Hammers' fans on his side.

If West Ham fans were unsure about the Portuguese youth international, he proved his skill and ability again. In a 2-1 loss to Brighton Under-23s, Silva created a goal for his team-mate out of nothing.

The 21-year-old picked up the ball in the penalty box, before proceeding to dribble past two Brighton defenders, and then sprinted to the by-line before pulling the ball back to team-mate Grady Diangana.

West Ham fans are understandably very excited about the Portuguese youngster with many praising the winger on Twitter.

Historically West Ham have had a very strong academy, and the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and Joe Cole all came through the 'Academy of Football'.

However, in recent years the amount of West Ham players transitions from youth football into the first-team has gone into sharp decline. Many fans have blamed recent managers for not taking a risk on exciting young talent, the recent signings of ageing talent such as Pablo Zabaletta, Patrice Evra and Javier Hernandez prove this.

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If Silva is to make his way into the first team, then he is going to have to perform consistently at youth level and only then will he find himself in the first team.