Academy director Terry Westley has spoken of an incredibly rewarding season as threee more of his youngsters have progressed into and towards the first team
And with Declan Rice now having become a critical part of the Premier League side he is thrilled to see Grady Diangana progressing brilliantly and Joe Powell and Conor Coventry pushing hard to join them.
Speaking on www.whufc.com Westley said: “We’re here to serve the manager and produce players for Manuel Pellegrini to consider for his first-team squad.
And that’s exactly why this season has already been incredibly rewarding. Seeing Grady Diangana start the last two first team matches, with Joe Powell and Conor Coventry (below) involved regularly, has been brilliant, and everyone at the Academy deserves great praise for their success so far.
The management also deserve plenty of credit; they’ve been courageous and brave, bringing youngsters into the team and keeping them there.
That’s happened with Grady more recently and Declan Rice at the start of this season. There were questions whether Declan would head out on loan or be involved, but he’s stayed there and now he is a regular first team player for a Premier League football club at 19-years-of-age.
It’s about grasping the opportunity when it comes your way. With Nathan Holland injured this season, Grady was fortunate enough to get the call, and he impressed the manager and has since reaped the rewards.
Conor went away during pre-season with the team due to the World Cup – he may not have done otherwise – and having trained diligently every single day, the manager and his staff were impressed and that’s why he’s had that opportunity in recent weeks.
We’ve blooded a number of young players this season in both our senior Academy teams. As recently as last Tuesday against FC Porto in the Premier League International Cup, we played a senior B team who compete in Portugal’s second division. In that game, which we won 2-1, we had four U18 players starting. It’s a wonderful experience for them.
It’s all about levels. Take Sean Adarkwa for example – he is an U18 striker who has already made eight appearances for the U23s this season. He’s worked his way up and when he gets that call to train with the first team, he will need to step up again.
Jamal Baptiste is another one. He’s a schoolboy defender who has played in virtually every single U18 match this campaign. Our job with him now, and a few others, is to prepare them for that next step.
Sometimes results may be hurtful, but we know we need to get them ready for the bigger picture.”progress-has-been-incredibly-rewarding