Dan Barton and Joe Keeping (Cardiff City) born 2005, Midfielder and Defender.
Both Dan and Joe, having joined as eight year olds, are approaching a decade of affiliation with Cardiff teams. Joe is now in his second year as a scholar with the club and after a handful of games for the U-18’s as an academy member two seasons ago, played in half of their games last season. This season, he has been very much a regular in the team throughout the season and has missed only a few of them. Dan is a first year scholar, also having some U-18 experience last season, playing a half dozen times whilst still associated with the academy. He has been much more involved this season and appeared in more than half of the games. Dan was a member of the Wales U-18 squad that played a couple of friendly games against Scotland in the March international break.

Dan Carey-Evans (Cambridge United) born 2005, Defender.
After spending a significant portion of his early childhood located in Spain, Dan joined the Cambridge academy aged thirteen and has progressed to become a scholar with them this season. He did start playing for the U-18 team in the second half of last season and was undoubtedly anticipating a continuation of doing so before a serious injury prevented his availability for most of the first half of this season. Eased back with bench appearances as he returned to full fitness, he has been playing regularly in the last few months. Since the turn of the year, there has been plenty of focus on the U-18 team by the U’s fans. Last season, the team was celebrated as it reached the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup, and it was again the case this season with a tie against Premier League side Chelsea as opposition. A victory in that round and the subsequent one produced a quarter finals match against Arsenal at which point they were eliminated. Dan was by this time a regular starter in the team and so was an important contributor to those victories. As a youngster Dan played in the 2019 Cymru Cup games.

Max Edwards (Bristol Rovers) born 2005, Midfielder.
With his eligibility of affiliation with the Rovers academy teams approaching its culmination in January 2022, Max was rewarded for the good impression he had made on the coaching staff by being named in the matchday squad for the club’s FA Cup third round tie. Not only did he experience the thrill of being on the first team bench but was also given his debut when introduced as a substitute during added time in the match. An exciting occasion and one that places him in the record books as the second youngest first team representative in the history of the club. This season, Max has moved on into the scholar ranks but has seemingly missed some amount of the season, possibly through injury. It is an assumption on my part through his absence from the Bristol Rovers U-18 team that competed in a couple of FA Youth Cup matches earlier in the season. I cannot locate any other details about the U-18’s but can say that he is fit at the moment, confirmed by his participation in recent Wales team games. Max has in fact had a lengthy association with Wales teams, a participant in the 2019 Cymru Cup games, he then played for the U-15 team a few months later. Covid disruption then prevented further opportunities until he was a member of the U-17 squad last season and then as referenced he played for the U-18 team in their recent friendly matches.

Matthew Senior (Crewe Alexandra) born 2005 Defender.
A member of the Bury academy teams as a youngster, Matthew then transferred his allegiance to Crewe when financial troubles and the eventual demise of Bury football club required the search for a new one. He has done well there in the meantime and has become a first year scholar with them this season. He has been playing for the U-18’s after having featured for the team a few times last season. A somewhat recurring theme this week is that Matt is another whose season has been punctuated by some injury availability issues, but hopefully it has not been detrimental in his progression. He is also a player who has been involved with Wales teams from a young age, first playing at U-15 level and then last season played three times for the U-17’s.

Oliver Sweeney and Rohan Vaughan (Burnley) born 2005, Defender and Forward.
A first year scholar with the Clarets this season, Rohan appeared in around a half dozen games for the U-18 team last season when a member of the academy at the club. This season, he has played in all but a very few games for the U-18’s and though the predominance of them has been in a substitute role, the coaching staff obviously believe in his ability to provide a positive contribution to the team. He has also been involved with the U-21’s and has made one appearance off the bench for them. It is Oliver’s first season as a Burnley player, having joined them to become a scholar after playing in one game on trial for the U-18 team last season. Prior to that time, Oliver played his football in the Midlands and was a member of the Wolves academy teams. He has played in over half of the U-18 team’s games this season.

+Zachary Willis (Birmingham City) born 2005, Defender.
After playing a half dozen times for the U-18 last season when associated with the club as an academy member, Zach is a regular member of the side now he is a first year scholar at Birmingham. The coaching staff are seemingly pleased with his progress as they have also given him an introduction to U-21 football, playing in one game for that team as well as being on the bench on other occasions. His hope will be to get increased exposure to the higher level of football as soon as possible and use the experience to develop skills that can propel him towards a consideration of first team football. Zach is a player only recently added to the excellent database that Neil has constructed. It is done with a high degree of confidence in regard to his eligibility, but as the notation implies, requires official verification by the FA Wales in order to complete the process.