English-Nigerian forward Josh Ajala marked his full debut for West Ham United in impressive fashion, scoring twice as the Hammers cruised to a 4-1 Carabao Cup victory over Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium on Tuesday night.
West Ham boss Nuno Espírito Santo named a youthful starting XI, with Ajala one of five teenagers handed a place in the lineup.
The 19-year-old had made his senior debut earlier this month, coming off the bench in stoppage time as West Ham secured a 3-1 victory over Portsmouth.
After Léo Scienza opened the scoring inside ten minutes, Ajala restored parity four minutes before half-time, heading Lewis Orford's delivery into the net to bring the visitors level.
Ten minutes after the restart, the dual-national attacker pounced on a poor clearance before firing past goalkeeper Daniel Peretz to put West Ham ahead.
Taty Castellanos extended the visitors’ lead with 15 minutes remaining, while Jarrod Bowen added a fourth in the 84th minute to complete a convincing victory.
A two-footed forward, Ajala joined West Ham in the summer of 2023 after spending his schoolboy years at Chelsea.
He will now hope to make his Championship debut in the coming weeks, having been an unused substitute against Burnley and Charlton Athletic.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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