West Ham return to action on Monday when they welcome Brentford to the London Stadium in the FA Cup.

Given the immediate risk of relegation and the lack of time left in the season to avoid it, there is every chance that Nuno Espirito Santo opts for a heavily rotated side, but one still good enough to secure victory.

And one of the players who could benefit from that is Kante, who has already made seven first-team appearances for the Hammers this season.

Could Mohamadou Kante start for West Ham vs Brentford?

While part of it has been forced, Nuno’s willingness to give minutes to Kante speaks volumes about the level of trust that he has in the midfielder.

And that was backed up when the 20-year-old started the previous FA Cup clash with Burton Albion.

It was a fairly drab performance as a whole that day, but Kante’s displays certainly provided more positives than negatives.

Kante completed 88 per cent of his 50 attempted passes, but it was his willingness to do the work off the ball that caught the eye.

He won eight defensive duels, made four clearances and completed five tackles against Burton, showcasing his physcality in the middle as demonstrated by his Sofascore graphic below.

Nuno will not want to take too many risks with injuries, nor will he want to risk losing the game, and Kante’s involvement at senior level already will put him in good standing to start the game again.

Which other West Ham youngsters could start vs Brentford?

West Ham have several players to get excited about in their academy, and Josh Ajala is another who could be in line to play some part in the game.

The teenager has five goals and three assists in 11 Premier League 21 appearances, and was recently rewarded for his form with a new contract at the London Stadium.

Unlike Kante, Ajala is yet to make a senior appearance for the Irons, but that could come this Monday, albeit more likely to be from the bench.

Other potential squad inclusions are Josh Ladners and Regan Clayton, both of whom have impressed at Under-21 level.

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