Ireland underage international named on 20 best talents at Premier League clubs list
Leeds United's Cian Coleman closes down Lee Harkin of Wolverhampton Wanderers at Thorp Arch Training Ground last February. Despite being born in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, Coleman's allegiance is with Ireland and he is already part of the under-19 squad. (Photo by Jack Thomas - WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images)
It has been a long and twisting road for Walters, but all signposts point towards the top. The right-back’s latest step in a varied journey came in September when, at 16, he played 90 minutes for Arsenal Under-23s in their EFL Trophy tie at Swindon. He has been heavily involved at that level since then, crowning a year of huge progress since joining the club last November. Walters started out playing junior football in Peckham before spending four years with Spurs, followed by a two-year break that he took after feeling constrained by academy football. The gamble paid off when Manchester United called for a refreshed Walters in 2019, only for administrative issues to scupper the signing. That allowed Arsenal to make their move and they have landed a gem: Walters is a grounded, level-headed individual whose tenacity and attacking instincts have turned plenty of heads inside the Gunners’ HQ. He has already captained the under-18s and looks firmly ahead of schedule.
Born in Bermuda, Burchall moved to England at a young age and joined Villa in July 2021 from Bournemouth. Last season he became the third youngest senior debutant in the south coast club’s history when he came off the bench against Huddersfield. A fast, skillful and smart winger, he has been quick to make an impact at Villa, scoring a hat-trick in his second appearance in the U18 Premier League and also collecting three assists in his first four games for the club.
Not within the stipulated age bracket but Brentford scrapped their academy five years ago in favour of a B team model, which nurtures players between the ages of 17-21 and provides a bridge to the first team. Stevens signed from Worthing in July 2020 after breaking into their first team in the Isthmian League Premier Division aged 16, a few months after being released by Arsenal, whom he joined aged six. He made his Brentford debut last October and has been involved in the matchday squad in the Premier League this season. Stevens’s aggression in and out of possession and his ability to compete physically particularly impressed Brentford B head coach Neil MacFarlane when scouting the versatile full-back against Kingstonian. Is a regular for Wales Under-21s.
The ball-playing central midfielder comes from a footballing family and academy staff believe his tactical awareness is born from growing up around the game. His father, Adam, played for Brighton and is now manager along the coast at Worthing FC, while Martin (his great uncle), Paul (his grandad), and Wally (his great grandad), all enjoyed careers as players. Hinshelwood has also played centre-back but given the way he can affect games with his distribution and vision, he is at home in midfield. His understanding of the game belies his years and he has a good range of passing off both feet. “He likes to get forward and get goals, so he’s a bit different to all the other Hinshelwoods,” his dad Adam said in March.
Burnley have had a high turnover of youth players with only one of the club’s first-year scholars coming from within the academy. British-born Poland youth international Gromek arrived in the summer following his release from Leicester where coaching staff were surprised he was not offered terms. Gromek was tried at right-back and right midfield by Leicester, showing his versatility. There was interest from a number of other clubs, including MK Dons and Birmingham but Burnley made the most convincing case to the midfielder. Gromek is a strong and powerful runner with an eye for a pass. Still seen as technically raw, which might explain his departure from Leicester, but there are high hopes he can progress.
It is not easy to stand out at Cobham. Chelsea’s academy has become the place to be following the emergence of Mason Mount, Reece James, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Tammy Abraham, Billy Gilmour and Fikayo Tomori. But the past summer, was intriguing, with several rising stars deciding to leave Chelsea. The outgoings raised eyebrows and it will be interesting to see how the younger intake respond. There are still plenty of opportunities to progress and Silcott-Duberry, an exciting and versatile attacker, is one to watch. Born in Hackney, he made his debut for the under-18s earlier this year and has represented England at youth level.
It was a dramatic end to the season for Crystal Palace’s under-18s as they came agonisingly close to winning the Premier League south title, only to miss out to Fulham on the final day on goal difference. But the emergence of Rodney – an intelligent defensive midfielder who is also capable of scoring spectacular goals – as one of the standout performers from the first crop of players since the club’s academy attained Category One status was a promising sign for the future. A new £20m facility up the road from the first-team’s base in Beckenham is now fully up and running, with Rodney continuing his development under new under-18s coach Rob Quinn after Paddy McCarthy was promoted to the under-23s in August. Rodney – who started the final six games of the season and scored in crucial victories against Southampton and Brighton – is also capable of playing as a defender and could be handed opportunities to test himself in a higher age group this season.
A real competitor with an outstanding passing range, the Wigan-born midfielder joined Everton at under-5 level and recently signed his first professional contract with the club days after his 17th birthday. Metcalfe can play off both feet, has impressive technical ability and is a dead-ball specialist. He can also score a variety of goals and intercepts or regains possession with fierce intensity. At 16, he broke into the under-18s team this year and scored twice in 10 outings. There was also a debut for the under-23s in April. Metcalfe has said of his game: "I see myself as a tempo-setter, so I look up to Sergio Busquets. He’s so relaxed on the ball.”
Coleman is rated extremely highly at Elland Road and, having just left school, spent part of this summer training with Marcelo Bielsa’s first team. Immensely versatile, he has recently impressed in central midfield and is seen as potentially a “new Kalvin Phillips” but can also operate at centre-half. Despite being born in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, his allegiance is with Ireland and he is already part of the under-19 squad. At Leeds, Coleman has regularly played above his age group, appearing for the under-21s at the age of only 15, and has certainly caught Bielsa’s eye.
The Cardiff native joined Manchester United as an 11-year-old and would still be there if he had accepted the club’s offer to stay. Instead he moved to Leicester in the summer after an impressive trial, having been convinced there is a faster track through the under-18s to the under-23s and the first team. He thus became the second promising teenager to leave United for Leicester this year, following centre-back Jahmari Lindsay. A strong and skilful forward, Popov has a keen eye for goal and has been a regular for Wales youth teams since under-15 level.
The "next" generation talent has already made an impact by becoming the fifth youngest player to appear for Liverpool when debuting in the Carabao Cup third round win at Norwich. Signed amid the turmoil at Derby in February for an initial £1.1m, rising to £3.4m with add-ons, the Derby-born winger caught the first team's eye at the start of pre-season training. "I was watching the under-23s and I saw one player who had fire in each moment that he touched the ball. He passes players like they are not there," revealed Pepijn Lijnders. "I called Jürgen immediately and said: ‘Wow! We have a new player here.'" The assistant manager added: "He is a typical Liverpool Football Club winger in my opinion because he has goals and he has speed."
A local lad, who has been at the club since the age of six, Barrington loves to drift in from either flank to score, as he did for a close range finish in the under-18s' season-opening 3-0 win over Manchester United, his debut for Ben Wilkinson's side. Two-footed, rangy and with a penchant for dribbling, Barrington, who already has his own Instagram fan-page, was on target again for the under-18s in September's 5-2 victory over Southampton. Emulating Phil Foden to become another poster boy for City’s academy seems a difficult task but this is the dream Barrington chases.
“I am delighted to announce that I have signed for Manchester United,” said the 16-year-old after doing what many would consider a certifiable no-no: leaving Liverpool for their arch-rivals. The club’s prolific nursery appears to have acquired another starlet with a prodigious talent. Ennis, who had also interested Chelsea, bagged a 15-minute hat-trick as a substitute on his FA Youth Cup debut – against Sutton United – last season, his final strike a slaloming run through a trail of hapless opponents. He is two-footed, commanding in the air, and jet-heeled. In recent years United have produced Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood: might Ennis be next to hit the big time?
A right winger with an eye for goal, Parkinson has gone straight into Newcastle Under-18s first XI and impressed. He has benefited from attending Kepier School in Houghton-le-Spring near Sunderland which boasts a stellar football academy and produces a steady stream of future professionals, both male and female. As Neil Winskill, Newcastle’s under-18s coach, stresses, it is “early” for first year football scholars to play regularly at this level but, significantly, he has kept picking Parkinson.
Much like their first team’s Premier League form, Norwich City’s under-18s have struggled this season. One bright spot has been in the centre of midfield, however, where first-year scholar Osman Foyo has showcased a broad range of abilities. Highly capable off the ball and an effective winner of possession, Foyo also has the technical skillset to retain possession and has a good passing range. The former Chelsea schoolboy scored against his old club in August, a 25-yard effort that marked his goalscoring debut for the Canaries.
Southampton fans loved watching a clip from this August of Doyle executing a perfect top corner free-kick against Birmingham’s under-18s, particularly as it was spliced with footage of him practicing the skill with James Ward-Prowse a few years earlier. Doyle scored five goals against Birmingham that day and he has since been promoted to the Saints B team – one step from the senior set-up. Considered mainly as a central midfielder, although he can play higher up, Doyle is more than a burgeoning dead-ball specialist. He is an impressive carrier of the ball, blessed with vision and good technique.
Born in Antrim to a father from Northern Ireland and a mother from England, this left-footed No 9, noted for his tenacity and finishing ability, has been capped at youth level by both countries. It has not been a tug of war between them; rather a case of each nation recognising his obvious talents and keeping him in mind. During the September break, he went away with the Northern Ireland under-19s and scored the winner in both of their games while he is with the England under-17s for this October’s fixtures. Donley, who can drop off and show a good range of passing, played up and impressed for the Spurs under-18s last season. Has been at the club’s academy since the age of eight.
The left winger has been at Watford since the age of nine and was one of 13 academy players to be signed on two-year scholarship terms this summer. He is blessed with great pace, makes intelligent runs off the wing and behind opposition defences and finishes well. He scored his first goal of the season in an under-18s fixture against Crewe in August, after which the Watford Under-18 coach Tom Hart said: “We know that Blake has that ability, he had a really good pre-season even though he missed 20 days with Covid, he is handling the ball well and is a threat in one-v-one situations.”
The centre-back joined West Ham’s academy when he was five and is making impressive strides. He made four appearances for the under-18s while still a schoolboy last season and has been compared to Declan Rice; though he may not go on to become as good as the England midfielder, it is not a bad starting point. There are hopes that Casey, whose ability on the ball has caught the eye, will go make a name for himself. It was encouraging to see him named in the under-21 squad that beat Ipswich in the Papa John’s Trophy recently.
The Solihull native, who can play anywhere across the forward line and even as a No 10, joined Wolves as a 14-year-old despite interest from other clubs. He quickly stood out for his precocity. Although not particularly big, he played for the club’s under-23s while still 16, though he turns out most often for the under-18s. His cleverness, passing quality and predatory instincts enable him to create and score plenty of goals. After he netted both goals for Wolves' under-18s in a 2-1 win over Manchester City in September, Wolves manager Steve Davies praised Farmer for scoring “poacher’s goals” and serving as a “willing runner with great understanding”. “Owen seems to be better playing off somebody rather than a lone central role. He’s better coming off the side and playing off the front with somebody, he tends to link well with his other centre-forward.”
© Guardian News and Media 2021
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