Youngsters, academy debate and news thread

[Spursex]

It's rightly been a hot topic here, (rightly so) nothing makes a fan more proud and connected to the club than cheering on 'one of our own'...it is a special feeling and when we do achieve that can save the club vast sums in modern football that can be used elsewhere in the squad.

For certain, sometimes the club will get it wrong (and we should track that they do) and sometimes, nothing you do or say will stop an agent persuading their client to demand a move to grab the money or get their career going.

I am reminded of this today after hearing of a young lad who has yet to make an appearance for his first team, but his agent has just secured him a £15k a week deal for 3 years - and he may never make it, as they feared losing him to another PL rival. If he makes 15 appearances for them in the next two seasons, his wage automatically doubles - this season after securing his deal, he may be sent on loan, but he has to agree to it.

So let's try and keep track of progress and the clubs decision to sell or keep on one thread (here)..and work out if they should stick/buy or sell...

So a quick update of those that sometimes we forget and then we can move onto the others:

Tottenham make transfer decision over young star as Roberto De Zerbi reshapes squad​

Callum Olusesi is expected to stay at Tottenham this season and challenge for minutes under Roberto De Zerbi. Olusessi was not part of the 36-man squad that travelled to New Zealand for the club’s pre-season tour on Thursday as he continues to recover from injury.


The 19-year-old has, however, been told that he will be in and around De Zerbi’s squad next season, with the club having no intention of selling him.

Olusesi is to be part of a small group of academy players that they believe can challenge for first-team minutes this season or in the future.

Also, Centre-back Jun’ai Byfield, who has also been told he is part of De Zerbi’s plans, and forward Luca Williams-Barnett is also believed to be part of this group. It is unclear, though, whether Williams-Barnett will be part of the first team squad this season. he may continue his progress in the U21's.

Olusesi and Byfield were linked with a permanent moves away from Spurs in January, with reports that Hoffenheim, PSV Eindhoven and others have had bids rejected for the England youth international in this transfer window yet again.

 

[sldspurs]

That is why we need to go back to a Women U21 set up and try sign better players that are ripe for integration or selling on to help booster the transfer funds for the 1st team - Ive said many a time the U14's to U16's is a massive jump but it is even more a massive jump from U16's to U19's ... thus making it harder to go fwd to the 1st team. Maybe this is why so many players coming from the women academy just are not good enough to make it at this WSL top level and fall by the wayside .... even the last 2, namely Gatwick and Dennis are finding it hard to make it at this level (and Dennis spent most of her academy actually at the Sc*m)

 

[Spursex]

That is why we need to go back to a Women U21 set up and try sign better players that are ripe for integration or selling on to help booster the transfer funds for the 1st team - Ive said many a time the U14's to U16's is a massive jump but it is even more a massive jump from U16's to U19's ... thus making it harder to go fwd to the 1st team. Maybe this is why so many players coming from the women academy just are not good enough to make it at this WSL top level and fall by the wayside .... even the last 2, namely Gatwick and Dennis are finding it hard to make it at this level (and Dennis spent most of her academy actually at the Sc*m)

So much depends on the young girls circumstances.

A young girl I pointed at Spurs, decided it was too far and not conducive to her studies - she has just finished her A levels and is seen as a real prospect: skilful, quick, small and smart - at the moment she leaves adult players for dead. She plays on the wing.

We have no easy mechanism here for her to study for her degree and play pro football. The money is simply and the infrastructure is not there, like many others (at least 12 I know of) are now on their way to US collages to do their degrees and play full-time football under great US coaches - at the end, she could stay and get a full-time contract or come home with a degree that hasn't burdened her with a ton of debt.

The smart guys in the US have seen a real gap and are jumping in - they are expanding their reach here and more and more prospects will take that route, all the time what they can 'earn' here at that age is so relatively paltry.

Just like the boys side of the game, those that make it out of the academy (throughout the PL) to play for the first team is tiny - less than 0.05%

 

[sldspurs]

So much depends on the young girls circumstances.

A young girl I pointed at Spurs, decided it was too far and not conducive to her studies - she has just finished her A levels and is seen as a real prospect: skilful, quick, small and smart - at the moment she leaves adult players for dead. She plays on the wing.

We have no easy mechanism here for her to study for her degree and play pro football. The money is simply and the infrastructure is not there, like many others (at least 12 I know of) are now on their way to US collages to do their degrees and play full-time football under great US coaches - at the end, she could stay and get a full-time contract or come home with a degree that hasn't burdened her with a ton of debt.

The smart guys in the US have seen a real gap and are jumping in - they are expanding their reach here and more and more prospects will take that route, all the time what they can 'earn' here at that age is so relatively paltry.

Just like the boys side of the game, those that make it out of the academy (throughout the PL) to play for the first team is tiny - less than 0.05%

feel sorry for the young lass as we need to keep the best talent for sure but then if she gets a sponsorship degree in the US then that is hard to pass up ... my brother in law was offered one in his teens to go to Florida to learn and play golf but he said that he turned it down in the end as although the education was free under sponsorship, the accomodation was only part funded and the golf part was still fee paying for overseas students .. he then tells me that they bring over european youngsters every year just to be playing cannon fodder for the US cohort. they had the best coaches and equipment (much of which donated by the big brands) not so for him .. so he gave it up after spending a week looking behind the scenes and talking to brit player students already over there. It's a big risk

 

[sldspurs]

It's rightly been a hot topic here, (rightly so) nothing makes a fan more proud and connected to the club than cheering on 'one of our own'...it is a special feeling and when we do achieve that can save the club vast sums in modern football that can be used elsewhere in the squad.

For certain, sometimes the club will get it wrong (and we should track that they do) and sometimes, nothing you do or say will stop an agent persuading their client to demand a move to grab the money or get their career going.

I am reminded of this today after hearing of a young lad who has yet to make an appearance for his first team, but his agent has just secured him a £15k a week deal for 3 years - and he may never make it, as they feared losing him to another PL rival. If he makes 15 appearances for them in the next two seasons, his wage automatically doubles - this season after securing his deal, he may be sent on loan, but he has to agree to it.

So let's try and keep track of progress and the clubs decision to sell or keep on one thread (here)..and work out if they should stick/buy or sell...

So a quick update of those that sometimes we forget and then we can move onto the others:

Tottenham make transfer decision over young star as Roberto De Zerbi reshapes squad​

Callum Olusesi is expected to stay at Tottenham this season and challenge for minutes under Roberto De Zerbi. Olusessi was not part of the 36-man squad that travelled to New Zealand for the club’s pre-season tour on Thursday as he continues to recover from injury.


The 19-year-old has, however, been told that he will be in and around De Zerbi’s squad next season, with the club having no intention of selling him.

Olusesi is to be part of a small group of academy players that they believe can challenge for first-team minutes this season or in the future.

Also, Centre-back Jun’ai Byfield, who has also been told he is part of De Zerbi’s plans, and forward Luca Williams-Barnett is also believed to be part of this group. It is unclear, though, whether Williams-Barnett will be part of the first team squad this season. he may continue his progress in the U21's.

Olusesi and Byfield were linked with a permanent moves away from Spurs in January, with reports that Hoffenheim, PSV Eindhoven and others have had bids rejected for the England youth international in this transfer window yet again.

I am reminded of this today after hearing of a young lad who has yet to make an appearance for his first team, but his agent has just secured him a £15k a week deal for 3 years - and he may never make it, as they feared losing him to another PL rival. If he makes 15 appearances for them in the next two seasons, his wage automatically doubles - this season after securing his deal, he may be sent on loan, but he has to agree to it.

Thats £2.1Mll over 3 years that could be £4.2Mill - who would turn that down - he will be made for life even if he doesnt make it in football. Wow

 

[Spursex]

I am reminded of this today after hearing of a young lad who has yet to make an appearance for his first team, but his agent has just secured him a £15k a week deal for 3 years - and he may never make it, as they feared losing him to another PL rival. If he makes 15 appearances for them in the next two seasons, his wage automatically doubles - this season after securing his deal, he may be sent on loan, but he has to agree to it.

Thats £2.1Mll over 3 years that could be £4.2Mill - who would turn that down - he will be made for life even if he doesnt make it in football. Wow

It turns some lads heads, and they give into it, having achieved nothing - it's now more prevalent than ever.

 

[thelaughingcock]

It turns some lads heads, and they give into it, having achieved nothing - it's now more prevalent than ever.

Why wouldn't they?

He could spend years dicking around and never have to work a minute in his life.

Crazy

 

[Walthamstow wanderer]

For every “success “ story , there are thousands of kids discarded at such a young age , and more that are never even considered .

Byfield has always looked assured in the minutes he has played .

Even though we have let a few go , we still have a great group of 17/19 year olds coming through , and twenty year olds with first team appearances.

Great thread

 

[Spursex]

For every “success “ story , there are thousands of kids discarded at such a young age , and more tgat are never even considered .

Byfield has always looked assured in the minutes he has played .

Even though we have let a few go , we still have a great group of 17/19 year olds coming through , and twenty year olds with first team appearances.

Great thread

I'm going to give credit where credit is due @SwindonSpur82 ; he gave an entirely different perspective than some of us had/have and only time will tell (if ever) what's the likely outcome for these lads - either way, we can only hope that the club has got it right!!

 

[Spursex]

Tottenham are in a rush to return to the summit but should not forget value of youth​

By Elias Burke
July 26, 2026

Roberto De Zerbi set out his criteria for a Tottenham Hotspur player early in his tenure. Passion, determination and dedication to the club and his cause are non-negotiables. Age, however, is not a factor.
“I’m used to working with young players,” De Zerbi said in his press conference before Tottenham’s 2-0 win against Auckland FC on Sunday. “I gave in my career big time and space for young players, but they have to show me they are able to play and they are good players.
“I never start from the age of the players. From the qualities? Yes. From the attitude and behaviours? Yes. But not for the age.”
The Italian named a remarkably young starting line-up in front of a New Zealand record men’s football crowd of 40,112 here at Eden Park, allowing his senior players time to acclimatise after a long trip. Archie Gray captained a team with an average age of just 20.
Academy graduate goalkeeper Brandon Austin, who has only made three senior competitive appearances for the club, was the oldest of De Zerbi’s starters at 27 — four years older than Antonin Kinsky, who is expected to be the Italian’s No 1 for the upcoming season. Ahead of him was a selection of Tottenham’s most exciting academy talents, as well as Gray, 21-year-old Kota Takai, and Manor Solomon, the oldest of the outfielders, who turned 27 this week after spending last term on loan at Villarreal and Fiorentina.
Kaya Kaynak and Joe Devine
Your browser does not support the video tag.
While Tottenham have targeted prime-age players this summer as they aim to put the nightmare of last season behind them, it would be unwise to lose sight of the future. De Zerbi’s 35-man travelling squad, propped up by youngsters, offers an early look at who could make an impact.
Though many of the starting line-up are his peers, Gray stood out on the team sheet and on the pitch. He made 35 appearances across all competitions last term but was an unfortunate casualty of De Zerbi’s need to strengthen the midfield with experience and seniority, eventually losing the spot he earned under Igor Tudor to Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha after starting the Italian’s debut 1-0 defeat at Sunderland in April.

Gray now appears to be De Zerbi’s fourth-choice central midfielder after the record-breaking signings of Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali. Still, De Zerbi backed Gray to be a future captain of the club in May, and his performance at the base of midfield against Auckland — helping set up Dane Scarlett’s opener with an outstanding pass to Solomon — should serve as a reminder that he is not just a long-term talent, but also a player who can make a big impression this season.


Gray may yet get his chance as soon as the opening game of the season, given Pedro Porro and Djed Spence are not due back at Hotspur Way until around a week before the start of the Premier League after their World Cup campaigns. De Zerbi may rely on Gray at right-back in the opening game against Brentford on August 22. While there is a development plan to help Gray specialise in midfield, his versatility remains among his most important attributes.
“It’s lucky when you have a player who can play in different positions,” De Zerbi said in his post-match press conference. “OK, it’s important for Gray to fix one favourite position, but he has to be open to covering different positions on the pitch. He can play as a right-back, a left-back, a midfielder. Nothing changes.
“He’s a smart player. He is improving his knowledge on the pitch because changing positions means you change your body shape and direction when you receive the ball and give the ball. But he is an important player, even if he can play in different positions.”

De Zerbi stuck with the young core for an hour before more experienced players came on in the second half, with Richarlison scoring Tottenham’s second in the 70th minute. Among the most impressive were 17-year-old Luca Williams-Barnett, whom De Zerbi described as a “big talent”, and 18-year-old Mikey Moore, who spent last term on loan at Rangers and has been linked with another loan move away this summer, with suitors including Borussia Dortmund.
Whether Moore will get his opportunity to make an impression in north London largely depends on the club’s summer business, with Tottenham targeting reinforcements in wide areas. Should Spurs land a couple of key attacking signings, another season-long loan could be best. Moore told reporters after the game that he “still (has) so much more to improve” after impressing in Scotland.
De Zerbi is wise to the importance of the academy in the modern game, reflecting its players’ values as assets for “financial fair play” and in keeping with “the rules of Champions League and Europa League”. “We have to help them to produce more players because we need it,” he added. “It’s important for the club.”
As much as the focus should be on ensuring Tottenham return quickly to competing at the top of the Premier League, the club has spent several years prioritising youth in the market, and it would be nonsensical to throw that away.
To supplement the major spending, keeping the pathway open for a bright crop of academy graduates — as well as Gray, Mathys Tel and other young players recruited from outside the club — is essential in building a squad good enough to compete on three fronts.

 

[TQ2Spurs]

Spurs plans for Whitewebbs Park in tatters after judge quashes planning permission

The judicial review verdict comes after a change of leadership at Enfield Council, which now opposes the Spurs plans a training centre on the park, reports James Cracknell

enfielddispatch.co.uk

 

[sldspurs]

Spurs plans for Whitewebbs Park in tatters after judge quashes planning permission

The judicial review verdict comes after a change of leadership at Enfield Council, which now opposes the Spurs plans a training centre on the park, reports James Cracknell

enfielddispatch.co.uk

This is sad news indeed - so the sandal brigade win with their £30K+ go fund me campaign and probably also got awarded costs (which will be harmful to THFC as that wont be cheap).
Hope they now regret it over time when this area becomes a real state for the eyes as for sure they aint gonna do much about making the area better for anyone. It will become worse than desolate.

Sad day indeed

 

[TQ2Spurs]

This is sad news indeed - so the sandal brigade win with their £30K+ go fund me campaign and probably also got awarded costs (which will be harmful to THFC as that wont be cheap).
Hope they now regret it over time when this area becomes a real state for the eyes as for sure they aint gonna do much about making the area better for anyone. It will become worse than desolate.

Sad day indeed

If I read it right THFC weren't a party to the case, it was the new council claiming the old council were breaking some law by granting planning permission and the court upheld this. Yes, it is a sad day for the development of women's football but THFC are considering their options as a result of the ruling.

 

[SwindonSpur82]

I'm going to give credit where credit is due @SwindonSpur82 ; he gave an entirely different perspective than some of us had/have and only time will tell (if ever) what's the likely outcome for these lads - either way, we can only hope that the club has got it right!!

Thanks for comment, very kind.

I do have a different opinion & perspective to others but I’m always open for a respectful debate, which you & others certainly offered. I may not agree but I’ll always try to understand others points of view

 

[Spursex]

Premier League academy wars: clubs rip up poaching rules and raid rivals​

In the new ‘Wild West’ of youth recruitment, eight raw talents have been transferred for £150m in England’s top flight this summer. What has changed?​

Not everyone agrees that there used to be a gentlemen’s agreement but if there was, nobody denies it’s gone. Those who insist it existed say there was always a clear but unspoken rule that the biggest English football clubs never poached each other’s best academy talents. No longer. “The gloves are off,” one experienced recruitment executive says. “It’s become a war.”

The young talent business is booming in the Premier League as promising but inexperienced youngsters are being sold for figures that would have once been attached only to seasoned professionals. Already this summer, eight players aged 21 or younger have been transferred in the Premier League for almost £150million combined, with those eight players boasting a total of just ten top-flight starts among them.

Clubs are cashing in but the top talents are the ones calling the shots. In the Wild West of Premier League youth recruitment, the most wanted now go where they want, with rivalries crossed and old enemies forgotten. Manchester United are about to sign two 16-year-old midfielders — Karim Cassim and David Eze — from Manchester City, as well as the 16-year-old winger Isaac Konde from Liverpool. City have an agreement to sign the 16-year-old midfielder Mishel Nduka from Arsenal, who are losing Kyran Thompson, also 16, to Newcastle United.

Many of these types of deals are settled by a tribunal — the process for deciding a fee when clubs cannot agree on development compensation for an out-of-contract player under the age of 24. But the figures handed down by tribunals are hardly putting off clubs poaching from rivals. In February, a tribunal ruled that Liverpool had to pay an initial £2.8million for Rio Ngumoha, the sensational 17-year-old winger who turned down a contract at Chelsea to join them two years ago, and that amount could reach almost £9million if certain clauses are activated. But Ngumoha played 29 times for Liverpool last season and impressed Thomas Tuchel after coming on for England last month against New Zealand in a World Cup warm-up game. £9million? If sold now, Ngumoha could be worth at least five times that.

Ngumoha’s contentious move to Liverpool sent shockwaves through the English youth system, with the recruitment executive insisting that deal was “the starting gun” for the academy wars that followed. “It changed everything,” he says. “Clubs think, ‘OK, you took our best under-16 [player], we’ll take your best under-14,’ and on and on it goes. It used to be everyone flirted with these players at rival clubs but didn’t do anything. The reality now is nobody cares.”

Tension stems from restrictions that have intensified need and narrowed options. Homegrown talents are more valuable since post-Brexit rules mean clubs can no longer sign players from outside the UK until they are 18, and even then those foreign players must obtain work permits by demonstrating a high level of pedigree and experience. The Premier League’s financial rules sharpen focus on academy players too, with fees generated from selling those players allowed to be banked as “pure profit”, given the cost of acquiring them is considered to be zero. Squad limitations, meanwhile, dictate that eight out of 25 places in Premier League squads are reserved for homegrown players, which means playing for an FA-affiliated club for three or more years before turning 21.

As those changes made youngsters more precious, academies have been producing talent to be sold as much as selected. It’s a lucrative business. Those eight players aged 21 or younger already sold this summer — all highly rated — are: Luka Vuskovic (19, Tottenham Hotspur to Brighton & Hove Albion for £46million, possibly rising to £50million), Tyrique George (20, Chelsea to Everton for £24million), Will Lankshear (21, Tottenham to Middlesbrough for £20million), Eliezer Mayenda (21, Sunderland to Rennes for £19million), Jeremy Monga (17, Leicester City to Manchester City for £10million, possibly rising to £12.million), Alfie Devine (21, Tottenham to Preston North End for £6million), Reigan Heskey (18, City to Cologne for £8million) and Tynan Thompson (18, Tottenham to Manchester United for £8million).


Tottenham’s renewed openness to offloading youngsters has been driven by a desire to improve their selling strategy. Their new director of football operations, Rafi Moersen, previously at City, is overseeing an approach common among bigger clubs, where youngsters are sold to generate funds but with protections, in case they explode in the future. Included in the deals for both Vuskovic and Lankshear were 20 per cent sell-on clauses for Spurs, as well as the right to match any future bids.

With competition fierce, the incentives and salaries offered to the best youngsters are skyrocketing. “The positive side is there is a real hunger for youth now,” an experienced academy director of an established Premier League club says. “The negative is the restrictions create a very unrealistic situation domestically whereby clubs are throwing an absurd amount of money at young and unproven talent. It feels like a race to the bottom.”

Clubs are also pushing further down the age groups to find gaps in the market. Last week Chelsea agreed a deal to sign the 15-year-old American winger Benji Flowers, according to The Athletic, while Michael Carrick included the 15-year-old forward JJ Gabriel in his United pre-season squad for a trip to Norway. One academy director recalls being asked for a fixture with his club’s “elite under-6s” — which he had to explain didn’t exist — while another interrupts when asked about the search for players aged 16 and up. “Nine,” he says. “More like nine and up now.”

The packages on offer would make many wince. Highly rated teenagers with few, if any, senior appearances can command weekly wages of between £10,000 and £40,000 a week, not to mention tuition at nearby private schools, in line with what the Premier League allows as “compensatory education and support”. Those salaries can make financial sense for clubs if they find the superstar who pays for the rest, but within the game there is concern about offering so much so soon.

The Peterborough United chairman, Darragh MacAnthony, told said last week that he thinks there should be a cap on how much players younger than 20 can earn and that trusts should be put in place, which players can access only when they’re older. “We’ve had young players [on loan] from Man City, from all the top clubs — they come in, they’re on 25, 30 grand a week,” he said.

“Money is damaging a large percentage of the youth section of our game. That is something I’m a big proponent about changing. No 18, 19-year-old who hasn’t played yet for the first team should be earning 10, 15, 20 grand a week. Absolute disgrace.”

 

[Spursex]

Part II


The irony is that for many of these players, pathways and opportunities are more persuasive, with clubs scrambling to show their top prospects that they will get early chances in the first team. Last year the 19-year-old defender Ayden Heaven swapped Arsenal, where he had zero Premier League appearances, for Manchester United, where he was given 18 in the league last season. Vuskovic was unsettled by Tottenham’s moves for Jan Paul van Hecke and Marcos Senesi this summer, while Thompson’s switch to United was a football decision too, driven by assurances about playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world.

Tactical promotions — when players are given appearances to boost their CV and inflate their price — are a well-known ploy but early opportunities can help clubs keep players, as well as sell them. Leicester held on to the hugely talented Monga for as long as they could, after handing him his debut aged 15 in April 2025, a month before he signed a scholarship contract. Monga stayed for another year, even in the Championship, and after his scholarship turned into a professional contract when he turned 17 on July 10, City had to pay Leicester £10million rising to £12.5million, instead of what would have been a fraction of that if the deal had been settled in a tribunal.

Whether most of these players are ready for senior opportunities is a matter of debate, with some in development circles subscribing to the view that football is getting younger all the time, with players readier earlier now than ever before. Youngsters have advantages that were not available before — mental coaches, private coaches, private schooling, nutritionists — while also enjoying a softer transition to the first team. Gone are the days of kids waiting for their chance while scrubbing the boots of the older pros. “All the development they are now having at a very young age is paying off,” Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager, said last year. “Players at 15, 16 years old look ready to play in men’s football and that’s very strange.”

But not everyone agrees. Exceptional talents like Arsenal’s Max Dowman, Ngumoha at Liverpool and Monga at City may be on timelines of their own but the traditional view still holds that teenagers need to be carefully moulded before being tossed into the cauldron of the Premier League. And as clubs tussle over the top teenage talents, concerns linger about the effect of hefty salaries and the unsettling nature of regular moves. “Continuity is good for development,” the academy director of the established Premier League club says. “And I don’t see the argument that says the more money you throw at a young person, the better they perform. It’s dog eat dog now, but we should be wary of the direction of travel.”

 

[SwindonSpur82]

Premier League academy wars: clubs rip up poaching rules and raid rivals​

In the new ‘Wild West’ of youth recruitment, eight raw talents have been transferred for £150m in England’s top flight this summer. What has changed?​

Not everyone agrees that there used to be a gentlemen’s agreement but if there was, nobody denies it’s gone. Those who insist it existed say there was always a clear but unspoken rule that the biggest English football clubs never poached each other’s best academy talents. No longer. “The gloves are off,” one experienced recruitment executive says. “It’s become a war.”

The young talent business is booming in the Premier League as promising but inexperienced youngsters are being sold for figures that would have once been attached only to seasoned professionals. Already this summer, eight players aged 21 or younger have been transferred in the Premier League for almost £150million combined, with those eight players boasting a total of just ten top-flight starts among them.

Clubs are cashing in but the top talents are the ones calling the shots. In the Wild West of Premier League youth recruitment, the most wanted now go where they want, with rivalries crossed and old enemies forgotten. Manchester United are about to sign two 16-year-old midfielders — Karim Cassim and David Eze — from Manchester City, as well as the 16-year-old winger Isaac Konde from Liverpool. City have an agreement to sign the 16-year-old midfielder Mishel Nduka from Arsenal, who are losing Kyran Thompson, also 16, to Newcastle United.

Many of these types of deals are settled by a tribunal — the process for deciding a fee when clubs cannot agree on development compensation for an out-of-contract player under the age of 24. But the figures handed down by tribunals are hardly putting off clubs poaching from rivals. In February, a tribunal ruled that Liverpool had to pay an initial £2.8million for Rio Ngumoha, the sensational 17-year-old winger who turned down a contract at Chelsea to join them two years ago, and that amount could reach almost £9million if certain clauses are activated. But Ngumoha played 29 times for Liverpool last season and impressed Thomas Tuchel after coming on for England last month against New Zealand in a World Cup warm-up game. £9million? If sold now, Ngumoha could be worth at least five times that.

Ngumoha’s contentious move to Liverpool sent shockwaves through the English youth system, with the recruitment executive insisting that deal was “the starting gun” for the academy wars that followed. “It changed everything,” he says. “Clubs think, ‘OK, you took our best under-16 [player], we’ll take your best under-14,’ and on and on it goes. It used to be everyone flirted with these players at rival clubs but didn’t do anything. The reality now is nobody cares.”

Tension stems from restrictions that have intensified need and narrowed options. Homegrown talents are more valuable since post-Brexit rules mean clubs can no longer sign players from outside the UK until they are 18, and even then those foreign players must obtain work permits by demonstrating a high level of pedigree and experience. The Premier League’s financial rules sharpen focus on academy players too, with fees generated from selling those players allowed to be banked as “pure profit”, given the cost of acquiring them is considered to be zero. Squad limitations, meanwhile, dictate that eight out of 25 places in Premier League squads are reserved for homegrown players, which means playing for an FA-affiliated club for three or more years before turning 21.

As those changes made youngsters more precious, academies have been producing talent to be sold as much as selected. It’s a lucrative business. Those eight players aged 21 or younger already sold this summer — all highly rated — are: Luka Vuskovic (19, Tottenham Hotspur to Brighton & Hove Albion for £46million, possibly rising to £50million), Tyrique George (20, Chelsea to Everton for £24million), Will Lankshear (21, Tottenham to Middlesbrough for £20million), Eliezer Mayenda (21, Sunderland to Rennes for £19million), Jeremy Monga (17, Leicester City to Manchester City for £10million, possibly rising to £12.million), Alfie Devine (21, Tottenham to Preston North End for £6million), Reigan Heskey (18, City to Cologne for £8million) and Tynan Thompson (18, Tottenham to Manchester United for £8million).


Tottenham’s renewed openness to offloading youngsters has been driven by a desire to improve their selling strategy. Their new director of football operations, Rafi Moersen, previously at City, is overseeing an approach common among bigger clubs, where youngsters are sold to generate funds but with protections, in case they explode in the future. Included in the deals for both Vuskovic and Lankshear were 20 per cent sell-on clauses for Spurs, as well as the right to match any future bids.

With competition fierce, the incentives and salaries offered to the best youngsters are skyrocketing. “The positive side is there is a real hunger for youth now,” an experienced academy director of an established Premier League club says. “The negative is the restrictions create a very unrealistic situation domestically whereby clubs are throwing an absurd amount of money at young and unproven talent. It feels like a race to the bottom.”

Clubs are also pushing further down the age groups to find gaps in the market. Last week Chelsea agreed a deal to sign the 15-year-old American winger Benji Flowers, according to The Athletic, while Michael Carrick included the 15-year-old forward JJ Gabriel in his United pre-season squad for a trip to Norway. One academy director recalls being asked for a fixture with his club’s “elite under-6s” — which he had to explain didn’t exist — while another interrupts when asked about the search for players aged 16 and up. “Nine,” he says. “More like nine and up now.”

The packages on offer would make many wince. Highly rated teenagers with few, if any, senior appearances can command weekly wages of between £10,000 and £40,000 a week, not to mention tuition at nearby private schools, in line with what the Premier League allows as “compensatory education and support”. Those salaries can make financial sense for clubs if they find the superstar who pays for the rest, but within the game there is concern about offering so much so soon.

The Peterborough United chairman, Darragh MacAnthony, told said last week that he thinks there should be a cap on how much players younger than 20 can earn and that trusts should be put in place, which players can access only when they’re older. “We’ve had young players [on loan] from Man City, from all the top clubs — they come in, they’re on 25, 30 grand a week,” he said.

“Money is damaging a large percentage of the youth section of our game. That is something I’m a big proponent about changing. No 18, 19-year-old who hasn’t played yet for the first team should be earning 10, 15, 20 grand a week. Absolute disgrace.”

£10-40k a week for an academy prospect!! Wow that’s some serious money & really shows the state of the modern game now & why so many players loose their way. Too much, too fast.

I’ve seen some bits about JJ Gabriel. He looks to be an absolute generational talent for Utd & England. For the national setting, you’d hope that he reaches his potential highs but of course we have our own amazing talents that need to be protected & nurtured like LWB.

I’m also stunned that there could even be an elite under 6 process too! As someone that has a soon to be 4 year old that does training at Swindon Town (with an avid love of being a GK, but with no formal process to train as one at that age! So i end up doing it myself!), I couldn’t imagine him doing significant training & work as a 6 year old or being paid those types of figures as a child of say 14.

 

[Spursex]

£10-40k a week for an academy prospect!! Wow that’s some serious money & really shows the state of the modern game now & why so many players loose their way. Too much, too fast.

I’ve seen some bits about JJ Gabriel. He looks to be an absolute generational talent for Utd & England. For the national setting, you’d hope that he reaches his potential highs but of course we have our own amazing talents that need to be protected & nurtured like LWB.

I’m also stunned that there could even be an elite under 6 process too! As someone that has a soon to be 4 year old that does training at Swindon Town (with an avid love of being a GK, but with no formal process to train as one at that age! So i end up doing it myself!), I couldn’t imagine him doing significant training & work as a 6 year old or being paid those types of figures as a child of say 14.

I did say, it's like the wild wild west now - all agents are approaching kids parents everywhere now, all now employ enticement tactics that I wouldn't want to talk about here. But you won't be surprised to hear employment offers to parents/housing/private schooling/private medical care - 'educational' trips abroad for the family are now becoming the tools of the trade. Most privately run academies now have 'relationships' with local league clubs and even PL clubs - so if he progresses, they are sure to be notified and watched:

There are many private football academies now - follow this link to see your options:

Google Search

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[SwindonSpur82]

I did say, it's like the wild wild west now - all agents are approaching kids parents everywhere now, all now employ enticement tactics that I wouldn't want to talk about here. But you won't be surprised to hear employment offers to parents/housing/private schooling/private medical care - 'educational' trips abroad for the family are now becoming the tools of the trade. Most privately run academies now have 'relationships' with local league clubs and even PL clubs - so if he progresses, they are sure to be notified and watched:

There are many private football academies now - follow this link to see your options:

Google Search

[/URL]

Thanks for the link. Interestingly my son has been in the STFC foundation since he was 2, they just don’t offer any dedicated GK related training until 6 though. Something he seems really drawn to & actually, for his age is really good. He has a heck of a kick & can already save with both feet & punch it away.
Some GK related options in that link though, so thanks for that.

I remember you saying that the whole academy inducement stuff was crazy nowadays but you really put some of it into context. What I find most strange is that you can’t offer those types of inducements to a senior player but you can to an academy prospect.

Presumably we follow the same practices to capture talent too?

Maybe if my son becomes a top GK talent, I’ll have to start thinking about what type of car I should ask for

 

[Spursex]

Thanks for the link. Interestingly my son has been in the STFC foundation since he was 2, they just don’t offer any dedicated GK related training until 6 though. Something he seems really drawn to & actually, for his age is really good. He has a heck of a kick & can already save with both feet & punch it away.
Some GK related options in that link though, so thanks for that.

I remember you saying that the whole academy inducement stuff was crazy nowadays but you really put some of it into context. What I find most strange is that you can’t offer those types of inducements to a senior player but you can to an academy prospect.

Presumably we follow the same practices to capture talent too?

Maybe if my son becomes a top GK talent, I’ll have to start thinking about what type of car I should ask for

Our problem got years is we wouldn't do it, unlike for example Chelsea (who did eventually get sanctioned for it) but just look at what they gained...