That squad doesn't say much for Celtic's
It doesn't look as though Albion are in any rush to announce the new intake of scholars for 2019-20, and knowing that there are hordes of Albion fans clamouring for this information, I feel duty-bound to bring you the news myself.
To the best of my knowledge the club has taken on nine new lads this season, ALL of them promoted from last season's U-16 squad (in fact, there are only two members of that squad who were released; Marley Miranda, who was announced as having been offered a scholarship by Colchester United in March, and Louis Evans).
Back row, l to r: Antef Tsoungui, Odell Offiah, Marcus Dackers, Fynn Talley, Ed Turns
Front row, l to r: Nathan Jenkins, Jack Leahy, Matt Everitt, Toby Bull
A little bit about our soon-to-be Premier League stars:-
Fynn Talley (Goalkeeper) - Born in Bexley, Kent. Previously played for Worthing Town. Spent four years in the Arsenal academy but turned down a contract offer from the Gunners to move to Albion on a longer deal for his U-15 schoolboy season in 2017-18. Played for the England U-16 side in the Nike International Tournament in Florida in December 2017. Made his debut for the Albion U-18 side against Fulham in October last year.
Toby Bull (Goalkeeper) - Born in Worthing. Joined the Albion at U-12 level in 2014-15. Was named on the bench for the Albion U-18s once last season but yet to make his debut.
Odell Offiah (Centre-back/right-back) - Born in Camden, he is the nephew of Martin Offiah. He went to school in Purley and played for Bromley in the Kent Youth League. He signed for Albion at U-15 level in September 2017. He was named as a substitute for the U-18s a couple of times in 2017-18 but still awaits his debut.
Antef Tsoungui (CB/RB/LB/CM) - From Belgium, Tsoungui spent a number of years in Chelsea's academy before being released at U-14 level at the end of the 2016-17 campaign. He attended Ifield Community College and was recruited by Albion at U-15 level. Has represented Sussex Schools and is a Belgian U-15 and U-17 international. He made his debut for the Albion U-18s when he started against Fulham in October last year.
Ed Turns (CB) - Born in Brighton, he attended Downlands Community School in Hassocks. Had a successful trial with Albion in the winter of 2014 during his U-12 schoolboy season. Enjoyed quite a bit of success with his school side. He made his debut for the Albion U-18s during his U-15 schoolboy season of 2017-18 and added 4 appearances last term.
Nathan Jenkins (Position) - Know virtually nothing about him, except that he joined the Albion at U-12 level in 2014-15.
Matt Everitt (Midfielder) - He was scouted by Brentford at the age of 10 and spent three years at Griffin Park before they decided to close their academy. The Bees' loss was the Seagulls' gain as he signed for Albion in August 2016. He made his debut for the Albion U-18s during his U-15 schoolboy season of 2017-18 with 9 appearances (1 goal) and added 1 goal in 8 appearances last term. He has been capped at U-15 and U-16 level by the Republic of Ireland, scored 4 goals in 11 appearances for the ROI U-17s last term and today his selection for the ROI squad for the 2019 UEFA European U-19 Championship finals in Armenia (starting on Sunday) will be announced. Definitely one to watch.
Jack Leahy (Winger) - From Croydon, he was originally in the Fulham youth system. After being released, he started attending the Unique FA academy. He was signed by Albion in March 2015 towards the end of his U-12 year. Made his debut for the Albion U-18s in February 2018 during his U-15 schoolboy season. His younger brother Tom also used to be in the Albion academy, but now plays for Millwall.
Marcus Dackers (Midfielder/Forward) - Hailing from Manchester, Marcus stands about nine feet tall and used to be in the Manchester City academy. He moved to Albion in August 2015 for his U-13 schoolboy campaign and attended Dorothy Stringer School. He has appeared regularly for Wales at U-15 and U-16 level. He appeared on the bench for the Albion U-18s last season but still awaits his debut.
As I posted yesterday, Albion have also signed left-back James Furlong from Shamrock Rovers. Furlong is the age of a 2nd-year scholar and will start off with the U-18s. There may well be other additions to the youth team before the window closes (in each of the last two campaigns the club has signed players from abroad with absolutely no fanfare and the first we got to hear about them was from the Premier League Squad list), so watch this space.
The bottom row are sitting on invisible seats.Ok I'll show my age here so to be a professional footballer now all you need is a silly haircut and a too small suit.... if it had been that easy in my day i would have had a career at the top.. I cant play football but had a sh*t haircut and wore Cr*p clothes ...
Appreciate the updates but do tend to lurk on this thread as harder to follow things from abroad. Makes this all the more important though so thanks for adding to it regularly
I know the name mentioned above by someone else, but assume we'd have heard by now if it was happening (also assume that poster got it right?).
