Who's Next Off Reading's Academy Conveyor Belt?

03/05/2024 13:10

Could any of these youngsters break into Ruben Selles' plans next season?

We've got quite a good academy really, haven't we? Just a quick scan of the regular team sheets this season shows us players such as Jeriel Dorsett, Sam Smith, Michael Craig, Femi Azeez, Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan and Kelvin Abrefa, among others, who have made the breakthrough in recent times. That's not to mention the departures of Tom McIntyre, Tom Holmes, Caylan Vickers and Nelson Abbey.

Given the ongoing transfer embargo, it feels like we will remain reliant on the talent conveyor belt that comes from our academy in order to flesh out the squad and give us more strength in depth and options.

I've done a review of those that have impressed in the under-21s side this season, as well as out on loan, and drawn up a list of players who we could potentially expect to see make the breakthrough into the first team for the 2024/25 season. The rules here are essentially that I'm including anyone who didn't make a first-team squad in the league this season.

I can't say for sure that any of these will have quite the impact that, say, Nelson Abbey had, but certainly these are the players that I would expect to be giving Ruben Sellés some incentive for minutes in the cup games and chances in the league from the bench. I'll come back to review this in May 2025 and look back on how wrong I was!

Michael Stickland

Right-footed centre-back Stickland actually started to break through to the first team back in the 2021/22 season, but picked up a nasty injury which delayed his progress. However, he has been an ever-present in defence for Noel Hunt's side, even getting a two-minute run out in the EFL Trophy this season.

With Zane Monlouis and Tom Holmes ending their loan spells in the summer, as well as the uncertainty around Harlee Dean's participation with the first team currently, we have the need to reinforce this area of the team and Stickland could provide good back-up or a good rotation option for cup games.

Louie Holzman

Centre back Holzman was one that I called out before as expecting to make a breakthrough this season, though only to myself as I had nowhere else to share my thoughts at the time, but instead was sent out on a short loan spell to Bohemians in Ireland. Since returning, he has featured fairly regularly, primarily as a centre-back but also in defensive midfield.

Despite being a right-footed centre-back, he is also able to play on the left side of the defence, which could prove to be useful, given that we don't have a huge amount of depth in this position. As mentioned before, central defence in an area next season that will need some additional depth due to departures and Holzman could be primed for a breakthrough.

Sam Paul

Sam Paul has been with Reading since the age of 10 and is a versatile full-back. Nominally right-sided, he is able to play as a left-back as well. Indeed, his appearances this season seem to have been split quite evenly across the two roles. While we have a lot of strength in depth for the right-back role currently, his versatility to play on the left could prove useful.

He even received a nomination for PL2 Player of the Month in August. With his aforementioned versatility and playing style, which thrives in attacking movements as well as defensive, he could be one to watch for the future if Andy Yiadom starts to slow down or Clinton Mola leaves.

John Ryan

A left-back, is it? Naturally left-footed as well? Excellent. The young Irishman has featured a fair number of times this season for Hunt's side, providing an assist against Sunderland. It's always good to see the full-back register assists, as we don't see the senior team's regular full-backs get many.

Ryan, like Paul - and not just in the sense that both have surnames that could be first names - is able to play on the right side of defence. This could be because of Kelvin Abrefa's call-ups to the first team, but also could be due to Hunt mirroring the inverted full-back model which is becoming more prevalent in the senior squad's playing style.

Without a true left-back in the senior squad recently, as Mola and Dorsett are essentially square pegs in round holes, the opportunity next season could open up for Ryan, with his versatility also being a helpful factor to be able to bridge the gap into the senior team.

Ben Purcell

Purcell is primarily a midfielder, but he is also able to play as a central defender. Although he made no goal contributions in Reading's Premier League 2 campaign, it's important to note the lack of depth in this position, which means the pathway to the first team is a lot clearer than in other roles. He could potentially feature in cup games as a rotation option next season, to allow Sellés to cast his eye over him.

Jack Senga-Ngoyi

Jack Senga-Ngoyi spent the first part of the season out on loan at Ayr United, but returned in January and has been a regular in Hunt's team since then. He is an imposing defensive midfielder, also able to play at the back.

Similar to Purcell, he has not made any goal contributions but is clearly highly regarded by Hunt and has also made an EFL Trophy appearance this season. I expect the club will seek to tie him down on longer terms and look to facilitate a breakthrough into the first team next season, whether through more cup games or as a rotation option.

Charlie Wellens

Wellens joined the academy in the summer from Manchester United, and his dad also manages League One rivals Leyton Orient. Since signing, he has been a regular for Hunt's team. He also featured for four minutes in the EFL Trophy for the senior team, but EFL Trophy minutes don't count here.

Wellens is primarily an attacking midfielder and registered five goals and one assist during the league season. Interestingly, he has also played up front, which saw him get two goals and one assist when featuring in this position, albeit all in the 7-2 win against Blackburn Rovers. He has also popped up on the left wing.

With attacking stats like this and consistency in availability, mixed with his positional flexibility, next season could be a good opportunity for Wellens to break through to provide cover if and when Harvey Knibbs is not available. His previous game time with Charlie Savage at Manchester United could also be an advantage too, to help his integration into the team.

Adrian Akande

Nigerian winger Adrian Akande is another regular for Hunt's side and had a pleasingly productive season, with three goals and seven assists registered in the league season.

Most pleasingly, Akande is productive on both wings. From what I can see, he is nominally right-footed, and has recorded most of his playing time this season on the right wing. He has two goals and two assists there, so could be a good back-up option for Azeez.

However, he has so far been at his most productive on the left wing. With Paul Mukairu's loan spell ending this summer, and a general lack of depth in the wide attacking positions, the time might be ripe for Akande to step up into the senior team.

Jeremiah Okine-Peters

Okine-Peters is another winger to have a reasonably productive season, having registered four goals and two assists in 15 league appearances. However, those were often appearances off the bench. Anyone else hearing Caylan Vickers-style impact sub here?

Okine-Peters is also versatile – he appears to be right-footed (we don't seem to have many left-footed attackers), but he can operate on both the right and left flanks, as well as up front. He has mostly featured on the left this season.

As mentioned before, we are crying out for depth with wingers, so Okine-Peters will likely be under consideration for cup minutes to see what kind of an impact he can have.

Basil Tuma

Tuma is another player that offers strength in depth in a position that we are not exactly flush with options, as a centre-forward who can also operate on the wing if required. Now, I am cheating a little by adding him in here because not only has he featured in a few cup games, but he did also come off the bench in two League One matches at the start of the season. However, this was only for a total of 19 minutes and that feels like a lifetime ago, so I'm bending the rules a bit here.

With Jayden Wareham featuring more regularly for the senior side, Tuma is beginning to get more game time for the under-21s and this should further aid his development. As well as this, he is clearly on the first-team radar and it wouldn't be unsurprising to see some cup minutes handed to him next season, if he continues this kind of form.