Leicester City F.C. Under-23s and Academy

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Leicester City F.C. Under-23s
Leicester City crest.svg
Full nameLeicester City Football Club Under-23s and Academy
Nickname(s)The Foxes
GroundKing Power Stadium
Leicester City F.C. Training Ground, Seagrave
Capacity32,261,
499
OwnerKing Power
ChairmanAiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha
ManagerBen Petty (Under-23s)
Adam Barradell (Under-18s)
Matt Goodwin (Under-16s)
LeaguePremier League 2 and Premier League U18
WebsiteClub website

Leicester City Under-23s are the former reserve team of Leicester City. The team mainly consists of under-23 players at the club, although senior players occasionally play in the reserve side, for instance when they are recovering from injury. The Under-23s team are managed by Ben Petty and they play in Premier League 2.

Leicester City F.C. Academy are the youth team of Leicester City directed by Jon Rudkin and managed by Adam Barradell. Leicester City's academy has held Category 1 status under the Elite Player Performance Plan since July 2013.

History[]

Although less famous than the likes of Manchester United or West Ham United's youth systems, the Leicester City Academy has been one of the more productive academies in the East Midlands. England internationals Peter Shilton, Gary Lineker, David Nish, Steve Whitworth, Emile Heskey, Ben Chilwell and Harvey Barnes as well as Don Revie, who played for and managed England[1] all began their careers with the Foxes. Frank McLintock, a Scottish international, former footballer of the year and a double winning captain with Arsenal, who was described by Bob Paisley as the "player of the decade" at the end of the 1970s also came through the Foxes' ranks.[2] Leicester's all-time top appearance makers Graham Cross and Sep Smith were also among notable products of the academy.

On 8 April 2013, Leicester City Under 21s won the newly formed 2012–13 Professional Development League 2 with a game to go, qualifying for the knockout stage.[3] However they exited the national play-off at the semi-final stage, after losing 3–2 to Cardiff.[4]

On 26 May 2013, the Leicester City Development Squad & Academy won the HKFC International Soccer Sevens cup, beating Newcastle United Reserves and Academy 2–0 thanks to goals from Michael Cain and Harry Panayiotou. The latter also went on to win player of the tournament.[5] On 4 July, it was announced that Leicester City's academy had been awarded category one status, the highest level under the Premier League's Elite Player Performance Plan.[6]

By finishing 6th in the 2013–14 Professional U21 Development League, Leicester City U21s qualified for the inaugural, 2014–15 edition, of the Premier League International Cup, being drawn in Group C with Manchester City, Benfica and Schalke 04.[7] On 24 November 2014, Leicester City U21s became the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals, after defeating Schalke 04 and Benfica, both 2–0 at the King Power Stadium.[8]

After having almost been relegated from Premier League 2 Division 1 in 2016–2017, Leicester Under 23s went on to finish third in PL2, while also getting to the semi-finals of the Premier League Cup.[9] In addition, several of the under 23's gained first team experience under manager Claude Puel with Harvey Barnes and Hamza Choudhury playing prominent roles towards the end of the 2017–2018 season. This subsequently lead to Hamza Choudhury gaining his first England Under 21s cap during the Toulan Tournament.[10]

On 13 June 2020 the club announced that long-serving coach Trevor Peake was stepping down from his role as Under-18s coach after 17 years of service.[11] Former under 12-16 Youth Development Phase Coach Adam Barradell took responsibility of the Under-18s during the summer of 2020.[12]

Having been in Premier League 2 Division 1 since its establishment as part of the Elite Player Performance Plan Leicester Under 23s were relegated to Division 2 on 10 May 2021 following a season that saw a number of under 23's players promoted to train with the first team due to a substantial injury list.[13] However, following an expansion of Premier League 2 Division 2 to 14 clubs, Leicester Under 23s were reinstated to the top division for the upcoming 2021-2022 season despite finishing second from bottom during the previous season.[14]

Players[]

Under 23s[]

As of 18 October 2021[15]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
41 GK Poland POL Jakub Stolarczyk
51 GK United States USA Chituru Odunze
61 GK England ENG Brad Young
38 DF England ENG Vontae Daley-Campbell (captain)
43 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Shane Flynn
45 DF Scotland SCO Ben Nelson
52 DF Wales WAL Iestyn Hughes
59 DF England ENG Ronny Nelson
62 DF England ENG Lewis Brunt
63 DF Guyana GUY Bayli Spencer-Adams
68 DF England ENG Harvey Godsmark-Ford
46 MF England ENG Callum Hulme
No. Pos. Nation Player
48 MF Thailand THA Thanawat Suengchitthawon
49 MF England ENG Kasey McAteer
53 MF Wales WAL Oliver Ewing
54 MF Portugal POR Wanya Marcal-Madivadua
55 MF Zimbabwe ZIM Tawanda Maswanhise
60 MF England ENG Ethan Fitzhugh
74 MF England ENG Sammy Braybrooke
77 MF England ENG Will Alves
40 FW Belgium BEL Josh Eppiah
44 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Ali Reghba
50 FW England ENG Jacob Wakeling
56 FW England ENG Terrell Pennant

Out on loan[]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Denmark DEN Daniel Iversen (at Preston North End until 30 June 2022)
— DF England ENG Sam Hughes (at Burton Albion until 1 January 2022)
— MF Saint Kitts and Nevis SKN Tyrese Shade (at Walsall until 30 June 2022)
No. Pos. Nation Player
39 MF South Africa RSA Khanya Leshabela (at Shrewsbury Town until 30 June 2022)
— MF England ENG Callum Wright (at Cheltenham Town until 30 June 2022)
— FW England ENG George Hirst (at Portsmouth until 30 June 2022)

Under 18s[]

As of 9 November 2021[16]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
71 GK Republic of Ireland IRL Arlo Doherty
81 GK Nigeria NGA Kelechi Chibueze
88 GK England ENG Tyler Weeks
— GK England ENG Harry French
— GK England ENG Karl Daley
58 DF England ENG Bailey Aisthorpe
70 DF England ENG Jesper Kutshienza
72 DF England ENG Joe Wormleighton
85 DF England ENG Jahmari Lindsay
— DF England ENG Tom Sams
— DF England ENG Oliver Murch
66 MF England ENG Brandon Cover
75 MF United States USA Zach Booth
No. Pos. Nation Player
67 MF England ENG Cody Read
73 MF England ENG Kian Pennant
78 MF England ENG Freddie Cook
82 MF England ENG Henry Cartwright
84 MF England ENG Jack Lewis
86 MF England ENG Ben Grist
83 MF England ENG Abdullah Javid
— MF England ENG Bradley Grant
57 FW Wales WAL Will Russ
69 FW England ENG Jack Butterfill
76 FW England ENG Kartell Dawkins
80 FW Wales WAL Christopher Popov
— FW England ENG Jahquan Springer

Staff[]

As of 22 December 2021[17]
Academy Team Management
Role Person
Academy Director England Jon Rudkin
Academy Manager England Ian Cawley
Head Of Academy Coach Development England Paul Cheney
Head Of Academy Player Development England Paul McGuinness
Head of Education England Matthew Clarke
Lead Coach Under-23s England Ben Petty
Lead Pro Development Coach Under-18s England Adam Barradell
Lead Youth Development Coach Under-16s England Matt Goodwin
Assistant Lead Youth Development Coach England Rodney Ballantine
Academy Goalkeeper Coach England Glyn Thompson
Academy Strength and Conditioning Coach England Michael Cheverton
Head Academy Physiotherapist England Ben Harwood
Head of Academy Sports Science England Kevin Paxton
Academy Lead Sport Scientist England Gary Capes
Academy Lead Performance Analyst England Ryan DeFreitas
Academy Head Scout England Bill Wall
Loans Manager England Guy Branston

Notable Graduates[]

Current Leicester City players in bold.

Honours[]

  • Premier Academy League
    • Winners: 2006–07
    • PL2 Division 1 runner-up: 2019-2020
    • Group B runners-up: 2008-09, 2010–11
  • HKFC International Soccer Sevens
    • Shield Winners: 2011-12
    • Cup Winners: 2012-13, 2016–17
    • Plate Winners: 2013-14
  • U21 Professional Development League 2 North Division
    • Winners: 2012-13
  • U15 Premier League Category 2 National Trophy
    • Winners: 2012-13

References[]

  1. ^ "Leicester City Academy chief proud of emerging talent". Leicester Mercury. 5 September 2009.
  2. ^ "English football Hall of Fame – Frank McLintock". National Football Museum. 2009.
  3. ^ "U21s Seal Top Spot With 3-0 Win". lcfc.com. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  4. ^ "Under-21s Edged Out By Cardiff". lcfc.com. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  5. ^ "Foxes Secure Hong Kong Sevens Crown". lcfc.com. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  6. ^ "Leicester awarded Category One academy status". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  7. ^ "Premier League International Cup launched". premierleague.com. 15 October 2014. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  8. ^ "Report: Leicester City 2 Benfica 0". lcfc.com. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  9. ^ "Development Squad". lcfc.com. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Choudhury Makes Maiden England U21s Appearance". lcfc.com. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  11. ^ "Trevor Peake: The Man Behind The Magic". lcfc.com. 13 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  12. ^ "'It's All About Performance For City's Under-18s'". lcfc.com. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  13. ^ "'Liverpool Defeat For City Under-23s In PL2'". lcfc.com. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  14. ^ "'Man City begin PL2 title defence at Liverpool'". premierleague.com. 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  15. ^ "City's Under-23s Kick Off PL2 Season With United Stalemate". lcfc.com. 15 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Young Foxes Begin Season With Palace Reverse". lcfc.com. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  17. ^ "Academy Staff". lcfc.com. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
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