No academy footballer wants to be told they are being released by their club after they’ve dedicated the best part of their teenage years to making it as a professional. But for thousands of young players across the country, the odds are stacked firmly against them.
Only a select few make it at a club in the English Football League, even less are successful at a team in the top flight. Official statistics released by the Premier League earlier this year showed, of the 4,109 players born between September 1995 and August 2000 who were registered at category one academies, which includes the top tier and several Championship clubs, 70 percent were not handed a professional contract in the Premier League or EFL. Less than half of them received a scholarship deal, typically given to players aged 16 as they leave full-time education.
Joel Bonner joined Liverpool ’s academy aged 12 after he was noticed while playing for his local grassroots side in Mossley Hill. He was brought into the development centre to train once a week for a few months before he was offered a trial and eventually accepted at under-13s level.
