| Young Guns Blog by John Jones | page updated: Fri, 18 Sep 20 : 08:23 efresh for updates [ scroll down to post your comments ]
To read all last season blog posts scroll through posts on the young guns page
Brandon Cooper (Swansea City - on loan at Newport County), born 2000, defender Now at the start of his third season as a professional, Brandon has joined Newport on a season long loan and should benefit in progressing his career by gaining competitive experience at League 2 level. A player who has been regarded as one to keep an eye on since his days producing impressive displays as a schoolboy international, captaining what was considered a talented Wales team at that level. After that time, he played youth team football for Swansea during his two seasons as a scholar and then moved on to the U-23 team. He has made a couple of appearances for the Swansea first team in cup games as well being a member of the Swansea U-21 team that competed in the EFL Trophy on quite a few occasions. He was also loaned to Yeovil Town in late January but football was suspended soon after and so he was only involved with them for a short period. Brandon played for the Wales U-21 team in their recent game and has been regular a member of the squad for the last couple of seasons.
Luke Jephcott (Plymouth Argyle), born 2000, forward Luke signed as a full time professional with the club prior to the start of the 2018/19 season upon completion of an impressive time as a scholar with them. He made his first team debut during that season and although involved with the team on numerous occasions, did not manage to establish himself as a regular performer in the team. Allowed to go out on loan for the first half of last season, news of his stellar performances with Truro City earned him a recall to his parent club. Given an immediate assignment in the first team, he showed the opportunity was well merited as he became a constant member of the team. A contribution of regular goal scoring was certainly helpful in Argyle's attainment of a quick return to League 1 status for this season when promotion decisions were announced. Luke showed that he was adept at that level with an early goal for the team as they played their first match of the season. Unfortunately, he had to be substituted because of an injury, hopefully he will make a quick recovery and soon be back in action. Having gained his first cap for the Wales U-21 team recently, he will want to continue being available for selection when they play their next match in October.
Rhys Norrington-Davies (Sheffield United ¿ on loan at Luton Town), born 1999, defender The report that Luton's manager expressed his delight in the acquisition of Rhys on a season long loan as well as his performance in their first game of the season suggests that the next challenge to exhibit his footballing prowess will again be successfully accomplished by Rhys. Having excelled at Barrow and then Rochdale over the last two seasons, he is now getting his first experience of the quality of opposition in Championship football. Judging from the comments of first impressions, it seems possible that he will continue to show that the ability to perform at the higher levels of football is within his capability. His parent club are present members of the Premier League and one of their priorities is the production of players in their development system that can help them retain that status. It certainly seems, that in Rhys, they can have some confidence that such a prospect comes to fruition. He has also been producing some good performances when playing for the Wales U-21 team during the last couple of seasons and it was a little surprising that he was not selected in the most recent squad. It would seem likely that he will be recalled for the October match.
Regan Poole (Milton Keynes Dons), born 1998, defender Regan will I am sure be determined not only to play regularly for the Dons this season, but also to produce performances that will get him acknowledged as one of the premier players in League 1. It has been somewhat of a roller coaster career for him to this point. His displays for Newport County at a young age that had made him at that time the club's youngest debutant, prompted a great deal of interest from numerous clubs. His subsequent transfer to Manchester United was relatively unsurprising. Making one first team appearance for the club, their association came to an end with the move to the Dons. His skills and ability are of a standard that though primarily he is a defender, he can also operate proficiently as a defensive midfield player. Though obviously a good quality to possess, particularly if team needs can prosper from the versatility, I think in some ways it has prevented Regan from reaching his full potential thus far. I'm sure his ambitions are to play regularly at the highest level possible, and particularly after having a brief sample of those circumstances, he aspires another opportunity. It may be that concentrating on gaining valuable experience in one position may be the best recipe to do so. Regan was called up as a replacement for the Wales senior squad last season, another feat I am sure he wants to repeat. Playing so well, clubs above League 1 status showing interest in procuring his services, would enhance that prospect.
Terry Taylor (Wolverhampton Wanderers ¿ on loan at Grimsby Town), born 2001, midfielder Included in the Wales senior team training camp at the end of the 2018/19 season, Terry continued making impressive strides in his progress when involved with the Wolves first team as they conducted pre-season preparations after the summer break. An unfortunate injury however delayed the start of his season and so his only involvement with the first team during the season was making his debut in an EFL Cup match. He did also get experience playing against first team opposition when playing games for the Wolves U-21 team that competed in EFL Trophy matches. It does look as though he will get a lot of first team experience this season, having been loaned out to Grimsby and playing the full 90 minutes in both of their games since joining them. It will almost certainly prove to be a beneficial period for him, one that may well provide the impetus to an eventual regular inclusion in the Wolves first team squad. Many expert judges who have witnessed his performances over the years, have expressed a strong belief that it is a level of football where achievement is within his capability.
page posted: Fri, 18 Sep 20 : 08:23 refresh for updates [ scroll down to post your comments ]
[ photo embedded from FAW cymru ] |
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