Greater emphasis has been placed on Cardiff City's academy in recent years.
The Bluebirds changed tack following Neil Warnock's exit, pledging to become more sustainable by lowering their playing squad budget, slashing transfer fees and, pertinently, leaning more heavily on the club's own production line.
The results have been mixed, that much is fair to say, but being able to see a number of kids come through the system and graduate into the first team in the last couple of years has certainly brought smiles to ardent City fans' faces.
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The likes of Mark Harris, Rubin Colwill and Isaak Davies have established themselves in the first-team setup. Joel Bagan and Tom Sang have also had their fair share of game time, too, while the likes of Eli King, Oliver Denham, Kieron Evans and Chanka Zimba have found themselves on the periphery.
Not all of the above will go on to have long, illustrious careers at Cardiff, of course, but it is clear to see the academy system is at least a viable route for players to get into the first team now. Far more than it had been for the previous decade or so, anyway.
And what of the next crop? The likes of Joel Colwill, James Crole, Xavier Benjamin, Jai Semenyo and Cameron Antwi have all shown promise in some capacity in recent months. Will they be afforded the same opportunity as the above mentioned group?
Well, speaking recently, new academy manager Gavin Chesterfield said of watching players break into the first team: "Everybody just gets a massive shot in the arm, it’s fantastic to see. Those boys have earned those opportunities and it’s fantastic that the manager has seen something in those players to give them a chance. All we can do is position those players in the best possible light, thereafter, it’s up to them. That’s what we’re here to do, we’re here to produce players for our first team.
"We believe in a pathway. We’ve got some great ideas to take it forward, we firmly believe in what we have in the building. There’s nothing quite like seeing someone in the academy play in the first team, albeit after a couple of loans or getting some early exposure. Regardless, what we want to see is a couple of breakthroughs."
Cardiff have utilised the loan system more in recent seasons as a means to getting their under-21s players more exposure at senior level. We've seen Chanka Zimba (Northampton and Newport County), Eli King (Crewe Alexandra), Kieron Evans (Linfield and Torquay United), Tom Sang (St Johnstone), Tom Davies (Pontypridd United), Caleb Hughes and Jack Leahy (both Haverfordwest County) among others all head out on loan for that first-team experience in recent years.
Expect that to continue in years to come.
"Loans really enrich a player’s pathway," Chesterfield added. "What we look at as part of our talent planning is what the first loan looks like and what that then allows them to kick-on to do in their next loan.
"For example, with us being a Championship club, it’s easy for us to say that our U21s players can go and play in the EFL tomorrow. I think they’ve got the ability to, but they’ve got to prove that and be good enough that people can rely on them.
"The idea is that the initial loan will set them up with some senior exposure so we can build onto a better loan, a bigger loan and a loan higher up the chain maybe next season. It’s all part of the plan."
Unfortunately, for clubs whose academies are placed into Category Two, as Cardiff are, and below, there is a growing problem. Due to Brexit rules, English clubs now cannot poach under-18 talent from the continent. What that means in real terms for clubs like the Bluebirds is that their brightest young prospects are now more sought-after.
We have already seen the consequences of Brexit come home to roost for Cardiff. Charlie Crew, 16, was bought by Leeds United last summer, while Manchester United signed 16-year-old striker Gabriele Biancheri last month - the young Welshman netted a goal on his debut for the club last week.
Premier League champions Manchester City are poised to sign goalkeeper Lewys Benjamin, also 16, who appeared on the bench for Cardiff in the January FA Cup clash with Leeds United.
There are, of course, negatives to these young talents leaving the club. It harms the production line, with the cream being sliced from the top which leaves Cardiff hoping the rung below break through into the Bluebirds first team and succeed.
However, there must be positives. Cardiff have to create links with these top clubs now in order for them to be compensated in the future. They already have in 'in' with Manchester United, with former academy head David Hughes now part of their youth setup, and hopefully that aids them in loaning in talented young players in years to come.
Cardiff are unable to fork out massive fees for players in the transfer market these days, so having strong links with big clubs to aid in their bid to seal top loan talent for the first team can be viewed as a potential positive.
And, in real terms, they are being remunerated rather considerably for players who have never kicked a ball in senior football. It is understood all three deals mentioned above, if Benjamin's goes through, will net Cardiff big six-figure fees. That is only guaranteed money, too, with triggered clauses set to send the number up to seven figures.
That, in truth, is the reality of where clubs like Cardiff are. The players are keen to get out to big Premier League clubs and believe it pushes their ceilings higher. There is little Cardiff can do about that unless their own first team muscles its way into the top echelons of the Football League.
For Cardiff, they have to accept there will now be interest and must maintain a strong selling stance in order to eke the most cash possible out of the buying club. Category One clubs have to turn to the UK market now and it actually puts selling clubs like Cardiff in a stronger position.
"All clubs are finding their feet," Chesterfield added. "Category One clubs can no longer go into Europe to purchase players below the age of 18. As a result of that, they look to supplement squads and recruit the best talent they can from these shores.
"We’re no different to any club in that regard, your players are always going to be sought after, it’s a good thing and it would be wrong if that wasn’t the case. It’s difficult because you don’t want to lose your best players, you don’t want to lose any of your players, but if we are going to lose our best players, we do so on our terms. We sell aggressively and protect the investment and the future of the club.
"Sadly, it’s sometimes a by-product of having good players. Inevitably, it might be the case that you lose one or two, but we believe in our pipeline. The hope is that the added investment in Llanrumney, a clear pathway into the first team allows us to produce players. This builds confidence and enhances belief in the system, and gives everybody a boost, players and staff alike. In recent years, the club has done so well and the hope is that we continue that."
The construction of the new academy site in Llanrumney is genuinely exciting and, amid a backdrop of austerity pertaining to the first team, ploughing so many resources into a new home for the youth team shows the faith which continues to be placed in the pathway.
The £7.5m project, the funding for which has been split between Cardiff Council, Cardiff University, Cardiff City and House of Sport, is flying along and is being overseen by board member Steve Borley.
The old Doctor Who building has been completely stripped and will be kitted out with offices, a lecture theatre, canteen, changing rooms, a gym and another academy-standard 3G training pitch. It really is an impressive structure. Borley has even spoken about having an image of Peter Whittingham emblazoned on the inside of the building to inspire the next generation.
Cardiff City will occupy 16 acres of the site, with the 3G pitch having already been laid and a further five grass pitches on which the young Bluebirds will train will be up and ready to go next season.
So, with a plush new complex set to house future crops of Cardiff players, then, what does that mean for their own categorisation? Does it mean they are planning, at some point in the future, to upgrade to a Category One to help sustain their senior team further? Well, it's not that simple.
For starters, running a Category One academy costs millions more per annum than a Category Two. But, as Chesterfield alludes to, while it might not be in the club's immediate plans to upscale to a Category One, it's certainly not out of the question entirely.
"Categorisation is dictated by the quality of the provision that you provide," the academy chief added. "There are some unbelievably high-quality academies out there that are probably in excess of Category One, so categorisation is one thing.
"We are currently a Category Two academy. Llanrumney has been built in mind with the potential to go Category One in the future, but that’s not a discussion I’ve had at this stage. The jump from Category Two to Category One is quite significant, both in terms of facilities, but also staffing, finance and many other things.
"We’re in a good place; we’ve got a good player base, we operate a very strong Category Two system that will get better.
"Categorisation in terms of moving to Category One protects you, I suppose, in terms of a better games programme, better facilities, better investment in certain staff, and better provision across the board.
"Sometimes, it can protect you in the trading market for players, but sadly since Brexit, in many ways, you have Category One academies that are purchasing from other Category One clubs as well, so I think everyone is just finding their feet as how these new rules affect the trading of young players."
Whether upping the club's status enables them to fend off the advances of Premier League clubs for their young players seems very much up in the air.
But while the club have been criticised rightly for many things, both regarding the first team and their academy, in recent years, it will be heartening for Bluebirds fans to hear just how much planning and investment is being placed on to the production line.
As long as that first-team pathway remains clear and the best young talent can see that route to the senior side, Cardiff do appear to have the infrastructure and at least a strategy-in-principle to give the next crop a decent shot a success.
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