Arsenal academy youngster Malcolm Ebiowei could join West Ham United after featuring for them on trial, according to reports.

AllNigeriaSoccer report that after Arsenal’s decision not to offer Ebiowei a scholarship to remain at the club, he’s training with West Ham ahead of a potential move. He featured and scored in an u16 game for the club on Saturday, before also playing the final 19 minutes for their u18s.

As mentioned, the move to West Ham isn’t yet confirmed, and the Nigerian outlet list Manchester City, Everton and teams in Germany and France as other clubs with links to Ebiowei’s agent. For a 16-year-old, however, remaining in London could prove more tempting than uprooting his life for a transfer abroad or across the country.

The rumoured reason for Arsenal choosing to let Ebiowei go, despite trusting his ability enough to give him his u18 debut as a 15-year-old earlier in the season, is that they’ve had issues with him in terms of his work ethic and attitude.

It’s a shame, as Ebiowei could well go on to be a great player if he does sort out that side of his approach to football. A club like Arsenal have to hold a consistent line on issues like these though, particularly at academy level, otherwise they set a bad example to the other players.