West Ham have confirmed that Jack Collison is leaving his role as Academy Under 18 Lead Coach.
This announcement comes as he has decided to pursue what has been described as a unique opportunity abroad.
The former Hammers midfielder –who made 121 first team appearances between 2008 and 2014– returned in 2016 to coach the Under 16s before working his way back up.
Collison has expressed that deciding to leave West Ham is one of the toughest decisions he’s ever had to make, adding that he still hopes to one day lead the club out at London Stadium.
The former Wales international had some brilliant moments as a Hammers player, including a double in a Play-Off semi-final win over Cardiff City and a thunderous volley against Arsenal.
The 30-year-old will now be replaced by Kevin Keen, who actually had an involvement in Collison’s development as a young player.
Keen has 18 years of coaching experience -nine of which have been at West Ham across the academy, reserves and first team- including time as Colchester United manager and a role as first team coach at Liverpool under Kenny Dalglish.
His latest job was at Southend United, though he will now be returning to West Ham, where he will pick up where Collison left off in developing the Hammers’ exciting young talents.
