I've understood you have a lot of knowledge about our youth set up, Yoof. Could you tell me/us a little about the current U18 squad and the even younger players coming in?
Love us giving them a chance to shine, and it would be even better if we in the future could have a senior squad with 5 - maybe 10 (I know, it's a lot) players brought up from our own youth teams.
Ok so the u18s are a combination of 1st year(16-17 year olds) and 2nd year(17-18 year olds) players, each group typically has 14-15 kids. The better/more developed 2nd year players move up to the u21s with the rest staying in the u18s, although those who have moved up to u21s will typically still take part in the u18 FA Youth Cup, that's really the only competition in any of the age groups that we specifically try to win, in England there aren't even any league tables until you get to the u18s. It doesn't necessarily mean those 2nd year players who are still with the u18s aren't any good though as kids all develop at different rates.
1st year
Brandon Austin - GK
Alfie Whiteman - GK
Jaden Brown - CB/LB
Joy Mukena - CB
Japhet Tanganga - CB
Nick Tsaoulla - LB
Keanan Bennetts - RW/AM
George Marsh - DM
Dylan Duncan - CM
Jack Roles - CM
Sam Shashoua - AM
Marcus Edwards - AM
Kazaiah Sterling - LW/ST
Aramide Oteh - ST
2nd year
Thomas McDermott - GK
Joe Muscatt - LB
Chris Paul - RB
Armani Daly - RW
Charlie Hayford - CM
Charlie Owens - CM
Zenon Stylianides - CM
Ryan Loft - ST
2nd years moved up to u21s
Thomas Glover - GK
Cameron Carter-Vickers - CB
Christian Maghoma - CB
Ismail Azzaoui - LW
I'd be lying if I said I was an expert on them all as even if you go to the training ground, Spurs don't allow spectators for the u16s and below. I've seen footage of some from overseas tours as well as videos the FA put out but a lot of it is based on hear say from those more in the know.
Marcus Edwards is the most talked about player there, he's the biggest talent in his age group in the country(and quite possibly further afield). He was England's star player at the u17 Euros despite being a year younger than most there and had there been a player of the tournament award then he would've been in the discussion. He's a diminutive playmaker with a low centre of gravity, exceptional control, vision, dribbling ability as well as the pace to take him away from defenders. As we know there's no such thing as a sure bet but if he doesn't make it then I'd be amazed, he needs work physically for sure but if he continues on his current trajectory then we could have a star player on our hands.
Kazaiah Sterling is another who is highly thought of who splits game time between left forward and striker. He's bigger than Edwards and physically more developed so he can handle himself better against bigger/older opponents, a quick and intelligent player with decent finishing ability. For some reason he didn't make England's u17 squad for the Euros but with the World Cup coming up he has a chance to put himself in the picture, he's a very talented kid and one to watch out for.
Sam Shashoua is in the same mould as Edwards and we'd probably hear a lot more about him if Edwards wasn't getting all the attention. If you saw him in a game you'd probably think he was about 13, this is a common theme with our academy, on average we'll pretty much always have the smaller team. A very skillful player and he's often amongst the goals, he made one 15 minute appearance for the u18s last season and picked up a goal as well as an assist.
Jack Roles I've seen clips of and when I say clips I just mean goals as he's scored a lot of them. Despite being a central midfielder, he managed to score 25 from that position as an u16 last season, it will be interesting to see if he can continue that for the u18s.
Keanan Bennetts was an England u16 regular and scored in the final of the Montaigu Tournament(bit like a World Cup) when they beat France 3-1, the goal he scored(and it was a tidy one from what I remember) is the only thing I've seen of him but he's another who gets talked about quite a bit, he's just been called up to England u17s.
Tanganga was one who has always been talked about a lot and was always a regular in England age groups but it seems to have gone quiet lately on that front, I'm not sure if he's had injuries or anything but it's actually Brown who I've heard a lot more about lately since he's started playing more as a CB and has just been called up to the England u17 squad.
Of the 2nd years, Owens is a big aggressive CM with decent passing ability and Stylianides is very capable technically but hasn't really found a position yet, he's one who ends up getting moved all over the place where there's a gap. Loft is a physical target man type and acts as a good foil for the little'uns to play off.
There was one other player in today's u18 squad and that was 15 year old Tashan Oakley-Boothe, for him to be straight in there on day one would back up how highly rated he is, though I can't tell you a great deal abot him other than knowing he's a CM. Other u16s who could make appearances at u18 level this season are Oliver Skipp, Nya Kirby, TJ Eyoma and Elliot Thorpe so they're some names to look out for.
You've probably read/heard about those moving up to the u21s so I won't get into them, though naturally they're ones I've seen more of so if you'd like me to I will.
