Irish duo Paul McShane and Gary Dicker mentors at forefront of new Premier League trend

Brighton started a trend, followed by Manchester United and Southampton, by bringing in a senior pro for their under-23s

BRADFORD, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 21: Paul McShane of Manchester United U21 wins a header above Alex Gilliead of Bradford City during the Papa John's Trophy match between Bradford City and Manchester United U21 at Utilita Energy Stadium on September 21, 2021 in Bradford, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

For Brighton, the seed was planted a couple of years ago when Bayern Munich fielded Nicolas Feldhahn, a strapping 32-year-old defender signed solely to help develop the Bundesliga club’s next generation, in an under-23s game at their Lancing training base. It struck Dan Ashworth, Brighton’s technical director, as an innovative way of smoothing the path to the first team and that summer they decided to experiment. Andrew Crofts, then 35, rejoined in a similar role as a player-coach.

In June, Crofts stepped up to become under-23s head coach and his former Brighton teammate Gary Dicker, who turned 35 in July, returned to assume the overage player and mentoring role. Brighton are fourth in Premier League 2 and given the way teenagers such as Antef Tsoungui and Ed Turns, who last month became the seventh academy player to make his first-team debut this season, have seamlessly slotted into Graham Potter’s high-flying side, it is a formula that appears to be yielding results.