Young guns news -
Friday 7 May 10
Daniel Alfei (Swansea City - defender) + Lee Lucas (Swansea City - midfielder) +
Joe Walsh (Swansea City - defender) Have
been offered professional deals for next season at The Liberty. All three have
represented Wales at youth level and will now look to have a full pre season
with the seniors after the summer break. As per usual not all youth team
players are offered deals as Rhys Wilson (Swansea City - goalkeeper) will be released along with young professional and Wales U19
international Keiron Howard (Swansea City - striker).
Richard Blythe
(Aston Villa - midfielder) + Tomos Roberts (Aston Villa - midfielder)
Will go into the second leg of the FA
Youth Cup Final with all to play for after drawing 1-1 with Chelsea last week.
Blythe picked up an assist for Villa as they took the lead before being pegged
back. Unfortunately for both it was not to be in the second leg as Chelsea won
2-1.
Troy Brown (Ipswich - defender) Will be staying on at Portman Road after being offered a years
contract extension by manager Roy Keane. Brown made a 30 minute cameo last
Sunday as the Trotters crashed 3-0 to Sheffield
United.
Ryan Doble (Southampton
- midfielder) Has returned to training
after successfully overcoming a hip operation. Doble who was in and around the
first team squad at the start of the season has now taken part in full training
and given himself a chance for selection for the
weekend.
Sam Hart (Preston -
defender) Has been offered a
professional contract after being rated as borderline by coach Dean Ramsgate for
about three or four months. Hart also tasted success on the field this week as
the youth team beat Bury 3-2 in the Lancashire Youth Cup
Final. "Sam
has listened to what the coaches have had to say and improved in all those areas
and has put himself in a good position to push to get a contract and I'm
delighted that he got that offer this week. Sam can be quite self-analytical
and self critical but I think deep down he knew he had done the best he could
have done. He has played a lot of games this year and has probably been one of
the first names on Jamie Hoyland's team-sheet for the youth team.
He has been the senior player of our back-five most of the time this
year and he has kept them
together vocally. We've seen him develop as a player and seen him develop as a
young man." Dean Ramsgate.
Adam Henley (Blackburn - defender) + Will James (Blackburn -
defender) Both started in the week as
the U18 team and played 90 minutes as Rovers ended the season with a 3-2 win
against WBA.
Elliot Richard (Bristol Rovers - striker) Has been offered a professional contract after impressing manager
Paul Trollope. Richard has been in and around the first team since the start of
the year and made his debut in February against Gillingham. He will now and
will hope to get some game time in preparation for next
season.
Elliott Scotcher (Ipswich - midfielder) Who was released earlier in the season by Cardiff City was
inducted into the Ipswich academy last Friday with a glowing reference from
recruitment officer Malcolm Moore. Scotcher was courted by Birmingham, Swansea
City and WBA before choosing Portman Road. “He gets box-to-box and is just a
nice, good footballer. He does all the jobs a midfield player has to do. I said
to him when he was up here recently ‘you never get in the box beyond the
strikers’. The first time he got in the box, he scored! We’re very pleased for
him. I hope this is going to be the first of many from Wales. Our two scouts
work very hard in Wales. He comes from Tenby, there were lots of clubs after
him, Midlands clubs like West Brom and Birmingham, Swansea as well, but I think
he’s come here, has seen what we’ve got to offer, the type of club we are and
the boy really wanted to come here.” Malcolm Moore.
Thomas Gregg Lopes Da Silva (Swansea City
- striker) Has been talking about his
first season back in the land of his birth after returning from Portugal. The
youngster was once courted by Benfica and FC Porto has found the football less
technical and more physical than in Portugal. http://www.swanseacity.net/page/Latest/0,,10354~2045354,00.html
Paul Walker (Northampton -
goalkeeper) Was between the sticks as
the reserves beat Stevenage 1-0 on Thursday
night. Walker who has just signed his first pro contract will look to push on
for regular second string starts next season. |