Quote from: OCD on January 11, 2023, 10:53:59 AMWe need to get him out on loan so that we can get him ready for the first team. He's 18 in May so we should be making him part of the first team squad before he turns 19 if he's that good. I could be wrong, but it doesn't feel like centre-back is a position where you get many very young players breaking through? Generally even the very good ones have hit 20 before they become first team ready, compared to more attacking players who can often appear at 16/17. Maybe it's the physical requirements of the role, or the fact that a mistake as a centre-back is often more costly than a mistake as a forward, but I'd be surprised to see an 18-year-old centre-back playing any meaningful part in the first team - injury crisis apart. He looks a great prospect, but hopefully he'll get a loan next season and plenty of first team games at a decent level at 18/19, then perhaps be part of the squad when he's 19/20?Or maybe I know fuck all and he's the next Gareth Barry who could look effortlessly comfortable in a premier league defence at 17?
We need to get him out on loan so that we can get him ready for the first team. He's 18 in May so we should be making him part of the first team squad before he turns 19 if he's that good.
The signing of Duran and the ongoing loans or selling of ex-Academy and younger players made me think about how few of our Academy players are making it to first team level.I know that it's not straightforward for younger players to come through, but there has been a lack of success in recent years. Jacob Ramsey has made it, but then from our FA Youth Cup winners in 2021, Chukwuemeka is the only one who had any significant senior involvement, and it's quite possible that we won't see any of the others playing with any regularity for the first team. Kadan Young who's only 17 this week, may buck the trend. I saw it mentioned on another thread that supporters tend to over-estimate our youngsters, and it seems to be the case that our development programme through to first team level isn't as fruitful as maybe it should be. We are not alone in this, but given the amount of investment and emphasis at that level, should we be expecting a bit more?
Terry, Stones, Gazza Bazza, Ferdinand, Saliba ... some examples of young-starting CB
I do hope so although I wasn't really counting Ireogbunam as he didn't come through our academy.I think for the investment and time spent nowadays on talented young players, that we, along with other Premier League clubs, should be expecting, rather than hoping, to produce more than one or two every few years.
The signing of Duran and the ongoing loans or selling of ex-Academy and younger players made me think about how few of our Academy players are making it to first team
We should hopefully start seeing dividends from the youth investment in the next season or two, at this point we should reasonably be expecting a Tim or Feeney to be part of the squad. Their inclusion saving us £10-30m depending on how much they play. This is compounded by the improved training facilities which should attract better players and improving them all by a small percentage.Arguably there was a 5-years void where Randy lost interest and the Dr didn’t have a clue, so the taps have only been turned back on since NSWE came along.