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Several studies have detected Ly$\alpha$ from bright ($M_{UV}\lesssim-21.5$)galaxies during the early stages of reionization despite the significantlyneutral IGM. To explain these detections, it has been suggested that z>7Ly$\alpha$ emitters (LAEs) inhabit large, physical Mpc (pMpc)-scale ionizedregions. However, systematic searches for the overdensities of faint galaxiesexpected to be powering these ionized bubbles around LAEs have beenchallenging. Here, we use CEERS NIRCam imaging to investigate the possibilityof galaxy overdensities associated with two very UV-bright LAEs at z=8.7 in theEGS field. We design a color selection to identify objects at z=8.4-9.1,selecting 28 candidates (including the one LAE in the footprint, EGSY8p7). Wemodel the SEDs of these objects and infer that all are moderately faint($-21.2\lesssim M_{UV}\lesssim-19.1$) with stellar masses of $M_* \approx10^{7.5 - 8.8}$ $M_\odot$. All are efficient ionizing agents($\xi_{ion}^*\sim10^{25.5-26.0}$ Hz erg$^{-1}$) and are generallymorphologically simple with only one compact ($r_e\lesssim140$ to $\sim650$ pc)star-forming component. Of the 27 objects besides EGSY8p7, 13 lie within 5' ofEGSY8p7, leading to a $4\times$ overdensity in projection at separations <5'(1.4 pMpc in projection at z=8.7). Separations of 10'-15' (2.7-4.1 projectedpMpc) are consistent with an average field. The spatial distribution of oursample may qualitatively suggest a large ($R\geq2$ pMpc) ionized bubbleencompassing both LAEs in the field, which is theoretically unexpected but maybe possible for a galaxy population four times more numerous than the averageto create given moderate escape fractions ($f_{esc}\gtrsim0.15$) over longtimes ($\gtrsim200$ Myr). Upcoming spectroscopic follow up will enablecharacterization of the size of any ionized bubble that may exist and theproperties of the galaxies powering such a bubble.

Insight from JWST/NIRCam into galaxy overdensities around bright  Ly$\alpha$ emitters during reionization: implications for ionized bubbles at  $z \sim 9$