Where to find the next generation of Premier League stars
Forget teenage sensations, the Premier League stars of the future are under 10 years old. Here’s how top scouts discover the next generation of heroes
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- Michael Hodges
A new season of the Premier League gets underway and young footballers across the country, fresh from watching their heroes in the World Cup, will be dreaming of getting a place at one of the Category 1 football academies run by Premier League and top Championship clubs.
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After signing at seven or eight, future Jude Bellinghams can, if good enough, continue to full-time academy training when, from 14, they can be offered a Scholarship Agreement. This means they will be taken on as a full-time apprentice at 16. The club will then become responsible for their education as well as their development as players.
Chris Robinson was a Premier League scout at Chelsea for 12 years and is now in charge of academy recruitment at Southampton. “We’re striving to identify in the eight-year-old what the 19-year-old is going to look like – but of course you can’t,” he says. “I say to my scouts, let’s only project forward two years at a time. When people say ‘I saw Marcus Rashford play at seven and knew he’d play for England’, I always reply, “’Well, you should do my job because I couldn’t do that’.”
Still, Robinson admits it’s the hope of encountering such a generational talent that has kept him going to countless junior games over the years. “You can tell the best and the worst players on the pitch in five minutes. But you’ve got to watch 100 kids before you find one that’s really good.”
The potential rewards for boys and their families are dizzying. Especially now, says Robinson, because Premier League clubs are increasingly interested in buying up young homegrown talent. “Some clubs will pay £1,000,000 for a 14-year-old who’s at the top level,” says Robinson. “That’s a lot of money on a kid who’s not finished growing yet. It’s very high risk but that’s where the market is being driven now.”
You have to watch 100 kids before you find one that's really good
With such stakes, the pressures from families for boys to succeed can be intense. “You do see the parents who are still coaching their kids from the sidelines, though we actively tell parents they can’t do that,” says Robinson. “I have been at grassroots games where I’ve seen parents fighting with each other on the side of the pitch – and even going on it.”
There are other influences that academies must navigate according to Roy Johnson, academy education manager at Southampton. “We have social media training throughout the season for younger age groups, to try and raise their awareness of their conduct away from the club,” he says.
“When players sign as academy scholars at 16, we become responsible for their education. Professional football seems like a luxurious lifestyle but operating at a high level in elite sport is very challenging. We want our young players to be well-educated but also as resilient and prepared as possible.”
Marcus Rashford. Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside/Getty Images
But is the future bright? There can be up 220 youngsters on the books of a Category 1 club academy, but Robinson says he still worries where the homegrown talent will come from. “I’m concerned that school football has declined and whenever I pass an inner-city block of flats, I think there could be a kid who has real talent living there, but whose parents can’t afford to pay the huge cost of playing in organised football – up to £700 a year. He won’t get the opportunity to play.”
And of course, one of Robinson’s less enjoyable tasks is telling young footballers that they won’t be continuing with the club. “You try and tell them in a considerate way and offer to help with other options, but in elite sport there’s selection, and where there’s selection there’s disappointment.”
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Chris Robinson is the author of The Scouting Game: An Insider’s Guide to Talent Spotting Football’s Next Stars
Authors
Michael Hodges
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