Aaron Cresswell on his leadership role, exciting Lopetegui philosophy and how the Academy of Football has an ‘exciting future’ | West Ham United F.C.

As well as the new signings, a number of young players from the Academy Under-21 development squad have travelled to Austria, and Cresswell admits he’s been impressed with their work ethic and attitude, and insists the future is exciting for the Club. 

“The older I’ve got, the more experience you get, and there are certainly a lot of leaders within the team, but if I can help any of the young lads then I will,” Cresswell said. “It’s a great experience for them to come out here and to get to understand what it is like to be part and parcel of the first team. 

“The Academy at the moment is absolutely fantastic and is in a great place, so it is certainly exciting for the future and the boys have a bright future as well. We have some fantastic kids who are talented, willing to work hard and the future is exciting. It’s a fresh start for them as well, so it’s their time to shine and impress the manager as much as they can. 

“We’ve also got a couple of new lads here with us, so it is a great time for them to get settled in with the team, get to know the players and the staff because there are no hiding places as we are with each other day and night for a week. It’s a good time to get together but the main thing is working hard and we certainly have been doing that.

“They [the new signings] have settled in really well, and with Wes [Foderingham] and Maximilian [Kilman] being English and speaking the language, it has been slightly easier for them, but Luis [Guilherme] is a young boy who has come from Brazil, and although his English is not great at the minute, you can see he is willing to try his best to learn the language and communicate. 

“He’s come with a positive mindset, looks happy and I’m sure the Brazilian lads Emi (Emerson) and Lucas [Paquetá] will look after him. We’re really happy with the way he’s come in and settled.”

The 34-year-old, along with the rest of the playing squad, will be on a flight to Florida for the Sunshine State Tour in America in just under two weeks’ time.

And Cresswell is relishing the opportunity to take on Premier League rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace in two exciting fixtures as part of the inaugural Stateside Cup.​

He said: “We’re buzzing for it. We’re excited. I’ve done America before when we went to Seattle a few years back and it was an amazing trip. The facilities over there are unbelievable and all of the lads are looking forward to it.”