I was forgetting he had an optional year, i'd expect that to be triggered and from there I guess it would depend what league we were going to be in
Another one for the yoof setup? Surely I can't be the only one getting a little peeved over the past few seasons that we seem to concentrate on signing youth players, who will play no part in the first team for at least a couple of seasons, if ever. I understand that if the club signs enough of these players, that, by the law of averages we should uncover the next Ferdinand/Beckham/Godfrey, however the first team has been crying out for improvements, in multiple positions, yet there's barely any action on that front. Spoiler: Under-18 signings since 2021 2021/22: Dubem Eze Charlie Campbell Kenny Coker David Aziaya Jayden St. Paul Ken Aboh Osman Foyo Finley Welch Reece Trueman Michael Reindorf Waylon Renecke 2022/23: Pedro Amadou Leon Giller Caleb Ansen Harrison Thompson Alfie Doy Benjamin McCabe Alex Roberts Elliot Myles Alfie Pinyoun 2023/24: Errol Mundle-Smith Gabriel Keita La'Sean Sealey Tyler Williams Hugo Valencia Lloyd Ofori-Manteaw Damari Daley Toby Chilvers Jaiden Owen Kingston Simbai Miles Bracking Henry Bullen Clearly the club see these as potential talents, however they're not 'free'. They'll have expenditure from the to cover e.g. wages/medical/staff costs/Colney amongst others. Wonder how much the development side sucks from the overall club budget (yes I know we receive an amount from the FA to cover costs, but I can't see this covering everything).
It does seem like a lot of investment but, unless we only unearth gems that's the reality. We're a club that has to operate thru a "buy low / sell high" strategy without the crazy "sheik" money. As you say, there must be some eye-watering outlay on that investment, especially frustrating when several youngsters are simply let go, but we really just need one or two a season to break through (like Mahovo) to really make an impact on the 1st team and therefore avoid the need to pay multi-million pound fees for (in this case) an experienced left back. We've taken punts on Tzolis, Rashica, RvW and Naismith etc. There's no guarantees our cash will be spent more wisely on the experienced end of the market. It seemed like it was working a few years back when Aarons, Godfrey and Lewis came through and dominated their spots in defence. A sensible combo of both youth and senior hires is probably the plan which makes sense on lots of levels.
What dodgy dealings are Watford up to now? Udinese signed Egil Selvik on January 10th and it looks like he is being sold to Watford today, and may be able to play against us this weekend. The Pozzo family own both clubs
Defender Jaden Warner in talks with Newport over a permanent move to the league 2 side. It would be a free transfer
Look away @NorthCityCanary In all seriousness though, it's a good example of another dev squad talent not converting to 1st team or profits as NorthCity points out.
Looking at NorthCity's list, there aren't many successes out of that yet: 2021/22: Dubem Eze Charlie Campbell Kenny Coker David Aziaya Jayden St. Paul Ken Aboh Osman Foyo Finley Welch Reece Trueman Michael Reindorf Waylon Renecke 2022/23: Pedro Amadou Leon Giller Caleb Ansen Harrison Thompson Alfie Doy Benjamin McCabe Alex Roberts Elliot Myles Alfie Pinyoun 2023/24: Errol Mundle-Smith Gabriel Keita La'Sean Sealey Tyler Williams Hugo Valencia Lloyd Ofori-Manteaw Damari Daley Toby Chilvers Jaiden Owen Kingston Simbai Miles Bracking Henry Bullen Aboh, Welch, Myles and Mundle-Smith are the only ones to have moved up to the first team so far. Rowe and Kamara made it and then moved on and Hills, Gibbs and Forsyth are currently in the first team squad. Mair and Reyes have been on the bench and Mahovo has made his debut, though he was only signed in this pre-season, so is hardly an academy success.
So the only (worthwhile) purpose of club academies /youth teams is to provide players for the club's first team? Waylon Renecke left Norwich U21s in September, signing a three year deal at FC Copenhagen, initially joining their U19s for a reported fee of Eur125,000. Copenhagen have high hopes of further progression. Doesn't that count as "a success"?
Yes it does, Robbie. I knew Renecke had left but had forgotten how. Kamara and Rowe were the big paybacks but their departures were a big disappointment to the club as a whole. It would be interesting to know how much the academy costs to run each year. It's interesting that some PL clubs don't have an academy. I think Brentford is one.
JHT opened the door for potential new signings at the end of this window, although they may be more for next season "its realistic than something can happen"
EPL rules now require all member clubs to have at least a Grade 3 academy; similarly, UEFA stipulate that member clubs wishing to participate in European competitions must have academies. It was the UEFA rule that prompted Brentford to re-open their academy in 2022, though post-Brexit regulations regarding work permits also played a part. Given our aspirations for promotion to the EPL, any question of scrapping our academy altogether is a non-starter. The focus should be, and presumably is, on how to extract best value for money from running it. On a more general point, anyone who takes the narrow view that nothing really matters apart from first team performance, needs to reflect on the implications for what we love and value about our club. How many of us, for example, would want to see the CSF and womens team sacrificed to that particular god?
Thanks for the update on Brentford Robbie. I wasn't suggesting ending the Academy but, as you say, getting the "best value for money from running it".
Rick, you're the last person I would suspect of thinking along those lines! While on this subject, I recall, in an early club interview, and in the context of discussing the club's financial model of buying players for development and adding value, Knapper made a point of saying that he wasn't just talking about the academy. He actually questioned whether the academy can be cost-effective in that context, and pointed to the purchase of slightly older, already somewhat proven, post-academy players as an alternative (e.g. Crnac, Schwartau).
Warner has now completed his move to Newport on an 18month deal. At 22 years old and with Hills moving ahead of him in the pecking order this seems like the right move
PinkUn are reporting that we are interested in signing 6ft5 23 year old CB Emmanuel Fernandez from Peterborough. A regular starter for Peterborough this season with 5 goals to his name, he has also worn the captains armband several times this season.
Current Rumours: OUT Barnes (ST) - Burnley - Free ✅ Fassnacht (RW) - Young Boys - Free ✅ Hanley (CB) - Birmingham City - Free ✅ Tomkinson (CB) - Ross County - Free ✅ Warner (CB) - Newport County - Free ✅ Gordon (RW) - Recalled ✅ Mair - Motherwell - Loan ❌ returned after injury Sainz - (LW) - Girona interested €20-25m Hills - (CB) - Loan to Stockport IN Jurasek (RW) 21 years old - Salvia Prague ✅ Dobbin (LW/RW/ST) - Loan ✅ Reyes (GK) - Recalled from loan ✅ Alan Domeracki (CM/LW) - Dundee ✅ Dylan Jones (ST) - 20yr old - Plymouth Parkway ✅ Selvik (GK) - 28 years old ❌ Signed for Udinese Thelo Aasgard (AM) - Wigan ❌ Signed for Luton Bindon (CB) - 19 years old - Reading Charlie Savage (DM) - Reading Ricky-Jade Jones (ST/LW) - Peterborough Willem Geubbels (ST) - St Gallen - Unlikely Emmanuel Fernandez (CB) - 23 years old - Peterborough
We’ve signed Dylan Jones from Plymouth Parkway. 20 year old Striker I think. He will join the academy squad for the rest of the season. He had a trial with the club and scored 2 goals against Crystal Palace earlier this week.
According to L'Equipe, Marseilles want to offload Rowe. He hasn't started a game since early November. And they still have to pay us this summer.
That is in line with reports in our local media. Suggestions are that his form has disappeared partly because he has not settled in the area at all.
