Since the turn of the calendar year, the makeup of the U21s team has changed. The group is now younger, with room being made for Under-18 players to make the step up.

This transition is normal among most Category One academies, as they look to give their best-performing U21 players from the first half of the season a chance to prove themselves out on loan, which then opens up opportunities for other players to make their mark in older age groups. It’s the natural cycle of academy football.

Emmanuel Adegboyega and Jaden Warner are the two most recent examples; both went out on loan in January and now ply their trade in the EFL (for Walsall and Notts County respectively). This has allowed Waylon Renecke to play more frequently for the U21s rather than rotate between them and the U18s. 
The club’s pathway from U18s level to U21s level is a healthy one at the minute, with the coaches currently giving opportunities to seven players who have played U18s football this season.

The seven are Alfie Doy, Uriah Djedje, Caleb Ansen, Gabe Forsyth, Waylon Renecke, Elliot Myles, and Errol Mundle-Smith – the ?project players? I referred to in the headline. These are individuals the club specifically wants to push through the ranks this season and who, aside from Ansen and Doy, all are just 17 years old.  

However, it would be wrong to say that the more difficult pathway from the U21s to the first team is in a similarly healthy condition, as the to...