Will Smallbone is only 19. Enzo Robise is 18 both looking useful, otherwise it is a bit sparse in that department. Also Will Ferry who is 19 may feature.
Saw the U23’s live at Walsall in the cup and against Villa U23’s, they were dreadful tbh. Slattery was the only real quality
As Osprey pointed out recently in the academy thread, basically all the youth from last year who won our promotion have gone one way or another. To me I dont think we have brought in enough to cover the outgoings. The artical did say there's an option to buy in the loan too so if he does well he should be ours.
Maddox was out of contract at the end of next season, and hasn't broken through at what is admittedly a very difficult position to break through with Chelsea, so I'd imagine that he's ours at year end if he makes the grade, and likely for a pretty reasonable price.
What I saw of Will Ferry, last season, impressed me. His off the ball movement was decent and he always seemed to be available for a pass. Hasn’t he been injured this season?
I think the key is the option to buy. We get him on loan for a bit so we can kick the tires. If we like him, we might buy him. If not, we don't. In the meantime for Chelsea, they don't think he's going to make the grade and he's been injured. So playing at Saints where he'll have nice facilities and doctors and where we can easily manage his workload because there's not a huge amount at stake in U23 is preferable to sending him to League One or Two.
Honestly I like the strategy as long as he's good. Most of our youth aren't going to be good enough. I would rather we signed decent players to play along side our homegrown gems, win games and get everyone in form, than pack our ranks with players who wont make it and have our gems trying to shine in a poor side. Especially needed if we are loaning out so many which is obviously going to create a deficit.
To interrupt the melodrama and inquisition at signing an U23 midfield player (an act that has literally had no impact on the visible universe) here's David Ornstein on Cedric to Arsenal:
Agree in part with the sentiments expressed but at the end of the day, he’s served us so well and just needed more security for the future, that much we owe him.