Mubama, now 18 years old, joined West Ham. He signed his first professional deal in October 2021; it has an option to be extended through the summer of 2024. The attacker made his first-team debut in November, again in the Europa Conference League, in a 3-0 victory over FCSB in Romania. Mubama, who will be 19 in October, is anticipated to have a breakthrough season.
Billy McKinlay, the head coach of West Ham’s first squad, claimed that for the first few weeks of preseason, he was “really impressive” and that it “has given us something to think about.“
Debut and First Thoughts-
The kid scored in Australia’s first two preseason matches against Tottenham Hotspur and Perth Glory. His danger at attacking crosses, a hallmark of West Ham’s attacking style, was evident in both goals, but the Perth goal’s progression was set off by his defensive grit.
Despite being a distant fourth in the first-team hierarchy behind Gianluca Scamacca, Michail Antonio, and Danny Ings, he has been in domineering goalscoring form with the academy, tallying 21 goals in 27 games. He has also represented England at the juvenile levels, earning 21 caps between the ages of 15 and 19.
Mubama possesses physical presence but misses an aerial reach compared to most center-backs who are higher than that at 6 feet (183 cm). He makes up for it with shrewd positioning, frequently on the centre defender’s blindside who is farthest away from the crosser, and exceptional height on his leaps.
He scored the most goals in the Youth Cup (eight), and even though he did not score in the championship game versus Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, his hold-up play was essential to the first two goals.
Positioning and Playing Technique-
When combined with the diversity of finishes, his semi-final hat-trick against Southampton at the London Stadium was exclusively scored with his left foot, which gives him similarities to Zamora. His first of three goals was a one-touch strike at the near post following a right cross. After a costly mistake led to the second goal, he raced onto a through ball and slipped past the goalkeeper. Late in the game, he completed his hat trick with a selfless finish.
Before permanently switching to under-21s football in Premier League 2, in which he scored 13 goals in 20 appearances to finish as the league’s second-leading scorer behind Manchester City’s Carlos Borges, he was head and shoulders above his rivals at the youth level last season, scoring five goals in a dozen appearances in the under-18s Premier League. After the World Cup break, when that competition started, Mubama scored goals in eight straight games.
Future Potential and Progress-
Locally born Mubama, who played roughly 2,700 minutes in 33 appearances across all junior tournaments, was chosen as West Ham’s young player of the season. His performance of 26 goals and 4 assists, or 103 minutes per goal, was incredible.
Had West Ham not spent the most of the season in danger of going down, which led to the January acquisition of former England striker Danny Ings, Mubama could have had more frequent and desired first-team appearances.
He will be participating in the Europa League group stage this time around, which should create a better environment for his development because the league has bigger expectations for him. But the young person brings much more to the table than just goals.
Mubama plays far less on his feet at the senior level and more as a centre No. 9 who drops in, makes lots of diagonal runs into wide areas, and stretches the opposition with runs from behind. He does receive the ball frequently, but they can also be effective unselfish runs that draw the defence in to provide space for West Ham’s midfielders and wingers.
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