Who is Kaelan Casey? West Ham teenager profiled after…

Who is Kaelan Casey? West Ham teenager profiled after making Tottenham bench and senior debut

West Ham United academy centre-back Kaelan Casey was named on the Hammers’ bench for their 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

The 18-year-old was named on the bench for David Moyes’ side for Sunday’s London derby at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, adding cover in defence with Kurt Zouma missing the game with a thigh injury.

But who is the teenager who made a Premier League senior squad for the first time in his career? We take a look at the centre-back, below.

The basic info

Kaelan Casey is a 18-year-old 6ft centre-back born from Thurrock, England, who can also play in midfield.

Casey first joined West Ham’s football academy at the age of five, meaning he has had a 13-year association with the club.

In recent seasons, Casey has been a regular for the Hammers at both under-18s and under-21s level and made his debut for West Ham earlier this season.

His career to date

While still a schoolboy, Casey made four appearances in the Under-18s Premier League South during the 2020/21 season, making his debut during a 3-2 win against Brighton and Hove Albion four days before his 16th birthday.

The 2021/22 campaign saw Casey make 25 appearances across the league and FA Youth Cup, scoring three goals in 24 appearances and starting 23 out of 26 league games that term.

Since then, his career has kicked on further this season, establishing himself as a regular for the under-21s this season, as well as putting in a number of big performances for the under-18s, leading to his first-team debut and first Premier League squad inclusion this season, having signed professional terms with West Ham in the summer of 2022.

Casey’s 2022/23 season so far

Casey has already made 29 appearances in the 2022/23 campaign across under-18s, under-21 and first-team levels.

For the under-18s, Casey has played 14 times. Of those, ten were in the Under-18s Premier League South, where he scored two, provided two assists, helped to three clean sheets and helped seal wins in all ten. He has also played once in the Premier League Cup and in all three FA Youth Cup games, with the Hammers reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in 18 years.

For the under-21s, Casey has also made 14 appearances. He has started all ten of his appearances in Premier League 2, helping to keep clean sheets in 1-0 wins over Tottenham and Fulham. He has also played twice in the Papa John’s Trophy and twice in the Premier League International Cup, playing the duration of a 5-0 defeat to PSV Eindhoven and a 3-0 win over Feyenoord.

Casey was one of four players to make their senior debuts during West Ham’s 3-0 Europa Conference League win over Romanian side FCSB in November, coming off the bench in Bucharest to play the final 13 minutes of the game.

The defender has since trained with the first-team on occasion and on Sunday, was among the 20-man matchday squad for the Premier League trip to Spurs, although he was an unused substitute.

READ MORE

Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.

Already a member? Sign in here