West Ham United boss Alan Curbishley says teenager striker Freddie Sears is nearing a Premiership breakthrough.

He told WHUTV: "He is a centre-forward who we have got hopes for. It was a good display. As I said previously if we get to it and they go in, I have got no doubts about playing them. [James] Tomkins, [Jack] Collison and Sears have all been around the first-team squad for the last four or five weeks. [They are] part and parcel of the future of the club.

"[Sears] is different to what we have got available at the moment. He is Bellamy-like. He is quick, wants to get in behind people and goes about his business very quietly. He is a good finisher. He has burst on in the last two months really and I think the natural progression is to get some sort of football and we will see if that is in the next 12 games. I am not afraid to put the young boys in. If an opportunity arises I will do it."