Ahead of West Ham United U21s’ crucial fixture with Tottenham Hotspur, defender Levi Laing recalls a first senior appearance back in March …
Only when Levi Laing made his way back into the dressing room did the reality of a first senior appearance hit the young defender. After his first team debut came in West Ham United’s 4-0 UEFA Europa Conference League win over AEK Larnaca at London Stadium, it took a video from his mates celebrating for the achievement to really hit home. Laing sat, staring at the screen, chuckling at how ridiculous it all was.
“My phone was buzzing after Larnaca game,” Laing admits, laughing. “Texts. Calls. The lot. My friends were watching the game at my mate’s house. And they sent me a video of them all screaming at the TV when I came on. I think that’s when it hit. It was all a bit crazy.”
Laing’s mates were rightly celebrating though. Only thirty or so minutes earlier, the 19-year-old had been told by David Moyes to finish his warm-up and get ready to enter the fray. A few words with first-team coach Kevin Nolan followed, before Laing was given the nod to replace Kurt Zouma. Was he nervous? Yes. Excited? Yes. Scared? 100 per cent.
“It’s everything,” Laing enthuses, racing through his words at the speed of a quarter-back running in for a winning touchdown. “You’re nervous because it’s your first-team debut. But at the same time, you’re excited because it’s your first team debut.
“You’ve gone from playing in front of 300 people to 40,000. So, it’s surreal. It’s crazy. But at soon as I touched the ball, and got that first pass in, I was like…‘I am doing okay. I think I’ve got this.’”
While Laing, who has the ability to play at full-back and defensive midfield, has been playing regularly with Mark Robson’s U21s this season, he has often spent time training with the first team at Rush Green training ground. Rondos, drills, and matches with the likes of midfielders Lucas Paquetá, Saïd Benrahma and Declan Rice and defenders Nayef Aguerd, Angelo Ogbonna and Kurt Zouma have followed then. Sessions that are always going to help you to adjust when you make the step up.
“I revel in that challenge,” Laing states, on training with the first team. “Angelo, Nayef and Kurt; they have been there and done it and are always giving me tips. I am still young, so I have a lot to learn. I just keep asking them questions. Because I want to develop as a player and keep progressing.
“The attackers are world-class players too. It is a completely different intensity to the U21s, so training with them only makes you a better player. Coming up against Saïd, Pablo or Jarrod, it helps you become better as a football player. Everything is sharper, quicker and it’s a much higher intensity. The technical level is so high, so you have to be on it from the off if you want to get the better of any of them.”
And has he done that? Laing laughs. “There was one time when we were doing a 1v1 defending drill. And I got a good tackle in on one of the senior guys. I was like ‘Yeah, I got this.’ I’ll take that as a win.”
Moments like that bring confidence, for sure. Ask any player who has made the step from the Academy, and they will tell you that is key to making the jump is self-belief as well as quality.
For now, Laing will continue to learn and improve his game with the U21s, but you can sense he is more confident in his own game than he has ever been, having tasted first-team action last month. His showing in the U21s’ 3-2 win over Chelsea epitomised that.
“Playing consistently has helped with that,” he agrees. “I am a lot more comfortable on the ball. I am confident to try stuff because I think my passing has got better. My reading of the game has improved as well.
“I think this season has been a good season for myself. I have been playing consistently with the U21s and trying to showcase what I can do as a defender. But I want to keep on showcasing myself. I just need to keep pushing because nothing is guaranteed.”
It is wise words for a 19-year-old to end on, but Laing is a player and personality well beyond his years. The Academy of Football defender may have got his first taste of senior action. But already, he is focused on what comes next.