The success of Stoke City’s academy over the last few years has been the one shining light in what has been a sour patch for the football club, with players such as Tom Edwards, Lasse Sorensen, Tyrese Campbell, Nathan Collins, Harry Souttar, Josef Bursik and most recently Christian Phelps-Norton all making their debuts within the last 5 years. That’s a lot of players and a higher number of top-quality youngsters than the average club academy is producing. This success can be attributed to many things. The coaching staff, quality of facilities, temporary families providing emotional support to players and the introduction of Gareth Owen to the set up. The biggest factor however has clearly been the recruitment. With that said, what youngsters should the Potters U23’s be looking to line up next season?
Harvey Neville
Son of Ex - Manchester United star Phil Neville, Harvey is similar to his dad in very few ways with him playing in the same full-back position as Phil did in his long, successful career.
Aged 18, Harvey Neville is having a steady season with Manchester Utd’s U23s having only been promoted to U23’s level towards the end of last year, Neville has currently played 10 games so far this season, scoring once and picking up 2 assists despite only starting 37% of those 10 games. Neville possesses decent pace, capable positional awareness for his young age and is defensively solid. However, Neville’s best quality is certainly his crossing ability possessing the potential to unlock a defence from wide right with a superb delivery channelled through his right-foot.
Neville’s contract at Manchester United is currently set to expire this summer, giving any club (hopefully Stoke) the chance to pick up his services for free and with Kieran Coates waiting in the wings for a first team opportunity, Tom Nixon will need strong competition in that Right Back spot for the U23s, Neville could fill that spot.
Timi Sobowale
Linked to Stoke and a host of other clubs in early January via The Daily Mail, the Dundalk born and recently turned 19-year old versatile defender is currently contracted to Man City however his deal expires in June (According to Transfermarkt) with no sign of a new contract sliding across the table with his name on it, he would arrive at Stoke in a similar situation to ex - Man City academy and current Stoke City youth starlet D’Margio Wright-Phillips having only made a singular appearance for Man City’s under-23s this season in the EFL Trophy.
Sobowale, wherever he ends up next, will arrive with a drive and determination to prove Man City wrong and establish himself as a regular in the U23s side and attempt to build on his impressive performances from the past with the Irish under-19s squad. Sobowale offers a lot of desirable traits in any of the 3 positions he can play possessing an athletic build, natural comfort on the ball as is to be expected of a Man City academy player and a good range of passing, not to mention he stands at a 6’1.
In my opinion Sobowale could be the man to fill the gap in defence left by recently promoted Centre Back Will Forrester.
Jonathan Gomez
Currently with American side Louisville City FC, Jonathan Gomez is a perfect example of diamond in the rough.
At just 17 years of age , Gomez has previously trained with Bundesliga side SC Freiburg, a team that the likes of Man City goalkeeper Zack Steffen has previously spent time at. A clear sign of the talent he possesses. Gomez is an extremely balanced left back, perfectly capable, and comfortable when defending, a rare trait for full backs these days, along with a nice bit of speed, quick feet, and a cracking cross with his gem of a left foot. Gomez has the potential to be the full package, given the correct coaching.
According to Transfermarkt, Jonathan Gomez’s contract at Louisville City is set to expire this November. In my opinion, Kevin Russell could do worse than to offer the young American a contract early.
Tim Akinola
Moving from defenders to midfielders, could tough-tackling,English,box-to-box midfielder Tim Akinola be worth prying away from the clutches of Arsenal’s academy?
Standing at a reported 5’8, the ex Lincoln City and Huddersfield Town youngster would provide bite and battle in midfield for any club. Decent ability on the ball,strong,powerful and one hell of a tackle on him on top of a nice touch and a positive amount of pace.
With the U23s squad inevitably having the shake-up it does most summer, it’s likely that midfielders will depart from the squad in the summer. This may be due to a 1st team promotion at Stoke or an external offer, this will open up a spot in the squad for someone like Akinola.
According to Transfermarkt, Akinola’s contract expires in 2022, making Akinola the first player on the list that the young Potters would have to pull the cheque book out for.
Joe Hodge
Another Irishmen strutting his stuff in Manchester City’s academy, 18-year-old Joe Hodge looks a real hidden gem. Currently on loan at Derry City but yet to make an appearance for the Candystripes, Hodge is a classy midfield operator, already catching the eye of current Ireland manager Stephen Kenny who described him as a “Natural midfield player”.
Hodge is a natural on the ball, making him extremely comfortable when playing that operator role as he is able to rarely give the ball away, in addition to his ability on the ball his passing range is exceptional too allowing him to unlock defences from both deep with long balls and from within the final 3rd with shorter yet clever passes thanks to his impressive vision.
He can also strike a ball on top of all that, he loves a goal from the edge of the box. Look it up! In my opinion Hodge would be the perfect midfield partner to many of our midfielders, especially someone such as Gabriel Adebambo who has recently cemented himself in the midfield for Kevin Russell’s side.
Joe Hodge’s contract is set to expire in 2022, according to Transfermarkt. Making him the second player on this list that the young Potters would potentially have to pull out the cheque book to acquire the services of.
Sidnei Tavares
Cousin of Nani, Sidnei Tavares is the player on this list with the most first-team experience , with Tavares playing 2 games in the Premier League for Leicester this season and 1 game in the Europa League.
Tavares is an ideal box-to-box creative midfielder, often taking the ball from deep or winning it back, running halfway up the pitch to then create a chance for his team. Along with this, Tavares is adept in winning the ball back, uses plenty of skill and even has a good set-piece on him.
The 19 year olds potential is unparalleled by many in his position on this list, hence the amount of interest in him and Leicester’s eagerness to tie him down to a new deal is proof of how valued he is, although the rumour is that he is looking for Leicester to prove that they are the best team to develop him.
Although it may be an ambitious name to put on this list, people must start to realise how successful our academy is allowing us to pick up players of Tavares’ quality, you only have to look towards the likes of Campbell and ex-Stoke City youth product Mo Sankho as signifiers of that.
According to Transfermarkt, Tavares’ contract at Leicester will expire in June and with the quality of our academy I believe we should at least try an ambitious academy signing such as Tavares.
Felix Nmecha
The oldest player of the bunch at 20. Born in Hamburg, Germany but raised in England, Felix Nmecha has been the victim to a cruel selective academy at Manchester City, a player with bags of potential who has never really been given a shot during his time with City due to players such as De Bruyne and David Silva.
At 6 feet tall he is much taller than your usual attacking midfielder, however he uses this to his advantage, protecting the ball and often winning free kicks by stretching his body across the ball and going down. Nmecha is a superb dribbler, combining good speed, quick footwork, and fantastic vision. I think at most academies Nmecha would have played a few first team games by now, not a single champion’s league game.
According to Transfermarkt, Felix Nmecha’s contract is set to expire in the summer, despite his senior age when compared to the rest of Kevin Russell’s current U23s squad, I believe that Nmecha could be an asset for Stoke City in both the short and long-term future, it’s worth noting that Defensive mainstay this season Harry Souttar didn’t become a regular starter for Stoke until he was 22 years of age.
Johan Mina
Probably the most out-of-character name that I would like the U23s to attempt to sign is 18-year-old Ecuadorian & Werder Bremen youngster Johan Mina who has all the makings of a potentially fantastic left footed attacking midfielder.
Sporting a race-yellow hairstyle to fit his blistering pace, Mina has already had to adapt to plenty of different styles of football, having played in Ecuador where the football is much quicker and about the technical side of the game and Germany, the football there is likely the closest to the Championship in Europe with high intensity. Some of Mina’s better qualities include his ability to cut in and shoot from the left, making him an accomplished left winger. His passing is surprisingly high quality too and based on his Ecuadorian youth record he clearly has a goal in him, playing 12 games for the U17s and scoring 8.
Mina’s contract situation is currently unknown, making Mina a much more ambitious target.
Dempsey Arlott-John
Described back in September by his manager as a “Fizzy Bottle of Pop” further stating that he can “Spark a team”. Dempsey Arlott-John at 19 years of age has had his progression hampered by injuries.
An explosive yet small forward, Arlott-John has pace to burn, counter-acting his small stature of 5’6. Arlott-John has an instinct for cutting inside and having a shot on goal , often working the keeper in the process. In terms of style, he’s a similar style of player to Leicester’s starman Harvey Barnes, often looking to cut in and score rather than cross with his weaker left foot. As an added bonus Arlott-John can play in any of the front 3 positions comfortably, although he is stronger on the left or through the middle rather than out on the right.
There is currently no official news on the status of Arlott-John’s contract, could he be worth the low-risk gamble?
Bradley Rolt
Currently on loan at Dublin-based club Bohemians from Peterborough until June, the young English gun Bradley Rolt is certainly a hidden gem.
At 19-years old, while not having much to shout about when it comes to his height, at estimate easily standing under 5’7 tall, Rolt makes up for that with his other attributes. A scarily similar player to Blackburn Rovers 20-goal man Adam Armstrong, Rolt has lighting pace, admirable anticipation and is a natural finisher in addition to being an accomplished dribbler on the ball with his low centre of gravity allowing him to be successful in that area.
According to Transfermarkt, Rolt’s contract at Peterborough is set to expire this summer although this is likely inaccurate with Bohemians having the option to extend the loan to December.
Either way Stoke should certainly pay the small fee for the potentially high reward. As for his impact on our current U23s squad, with Norton becoming somewhat of a regular on the first team bench in recent weeks, extra competition in the striking department may be necessary in order to get the best out of each striker.
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