Pablo Zabaleta raving over talented youngster Jeremy Ngakia | OneFootball

Few West Ham supporters would argue that at this point, 19-year-old Jeremy Ngakia has been the club’s surprise of the season.

The youngster was thrown into the fire in his first two Premier League outings, both against Liverpool, and did admirably well – earning himself starts against Southampton and Arsenal and making a case for the starting job.

Though Ngakia leapt over Pablo Zabaleta in the pecking order, the Premier League veteran had nothing but fantastic things to say to the youngster.

“You’ve been very good defensively, very solid performance. Very tight on Mané. You’ve never let him turn and run through,” Zabaleta told Ngakia on the club’s YouTube channel.

“Then when you had a chance to get forward and support the attack, you did it very well with a few good crosses. You’ve got the speed to get forward.

“Full back is a very demanding position in terms of running up and down. It was a shame we didn’t get anything from the game but you as an individual have to be very proud of your game, what you’ve done.

“You’ve been superb. How old are you, 19? Keep working hard, listening, be a good professional and good luck in your career. You can go for 15 more years.”

Ngakia will likely get the start once again this weekend when West Ham host Wolves.