Development/Youth Squads 2025/2026 Thread - U18/U21

[Ric Flair]

5 minutes ago, Rubbersoul said:

He’ll be off in the summer I imagine 

I really hope not, he'd take the piss in League One if we get the blend of youth and experience right. But I think we'll be getting notification in June that he's off.

[Rubbersoul]

2 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

I really hope not, he'd take the piss in League One if we get the blend of youth and experience right. But I think we'll be getting notification in June that he's off.

I’ve said it a few times but an account on Twitter that seems ITK hinted he’s off to Liverpool. Guess we’ll have to see

[Holly B]

On 22/04/2026 at 20:01, Ric Flair said:

I really hope not, he'd take the piss in League One if we get the blend of youth and experience right. But I think we'll be getting notification in June that he's off.

Same disgusting Agent as Trey so you can probably fill in the blanks 

[st albans fox]

Can’t blame him 

Nyoni has had decent exposure at Liverpool

kid will back himself 

 

probably first of a few 

 

 

[Chelmofox]

23 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

Can’t blame him 

Nyoni has had decent exposure at Liverpool

kid will back himself 

 

probably first of a few 

 

 

Footmob tells me he’s played 14 minutes this season. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him offloaded at some point. 

[South Shire Fox]

On 22/04/2026 at 20:01, Ric Flair said:

I really hope not, he'd take the piss in League One if we get the blend of youth and experience right. But I think we'll be getting notification in June that he's off.

We will be getting a transfer fee for him so wont be as easy as the Nyoni one to jump ship

[moore_94]

23 minutes ago, South Shire Fox said:

We will be getting a transfer fee for him so wont be as easy as the Nyoni one to jump ship

Motsi can leave just like Nyoni did

[South Shire Fox]

11 minutes ago, moore_94 said:

Motsi can leave just like Nyoni did

Didnt read previous page, thought it was about Monga. My bad

[lcfc sheff]

Don’t trust anyone that says our youth players might leave, I remember so many people saying Monga was leaving in the summer yet that didn’t happen.

 

for youth development we’re actually in a decent position as long as Top continues funding the training ground, the likes of Aluko, Monga and Page have had minutes this season; won’t be many other teams especially in the championship to have played 16/17 year olds. And it will only be more next season in league one

 

what will be will be but there isn’t actually any evidence yet, just like last summer where so idiots get some weird kick from making up rumours about 15/16 year olds!

Edited 24 April by lcfc sheff

[Samilktray]

13 minutes ago, lcfc sheff said:

Don’t trust anyone that says our youth players might leave, I remember so many people saying Monga was leaving in the summer yet that didn’t happen.

 

for youth development we’re actually in a decent position as long as Top continues funding the training ground, the likes of Aluko, Monga and Page have had minutes this season; won’t be many other teams especially in the championship to have played 16/17 year olds. And it will only be more next season in league one

 

what will be will be but there isn’t actually any evidence yet, just like last summer where so idiots get some weird kick from making up rumours about 15/16 year olds!

We probably need to consider we're now a League 1 club with quite serious financial issues. Its a lot easier to keep your best younger players if you're a Championship club that are still fancied for promotion back to the premier league by most

[Chelmofox]

17 minutes ago, lcfc sheff said:

Don’t trust anyone that says our youth players might leave, I remember so many people saying Monga was leaving in the summer yet that didn’t happen.

 

for youth development we’re actually in a decent position as long as Top continues funding the training ground, the likes of Aluko, Monga and Page have had minutes this season; won’t be many other teams especially in the championship to have played 16/17 year olds. And it will only be more next season in league one

 

what will be will be but there isn’t actually any evidence yet, just like last summer where so idiots get some weird kick from making up rumours about 15/16 year olds!

There is no pathway anymore. If you have an offer from a PL club you take it.

 

We proved this season we can't integrate the youth properly. Page played well several times, and his reward was demotion to the U23's. Would rather have had Page playing instead of both Winks and Ramsey on Tuesday.

[Foxes1]

The U21's play Spurs tonight in the play-offs at Stevenage so doubt we will see any off them in the squad for Millwall this evening unfortunately 

[Guest]

35 minutes ago, Chelmofox said:

There is no pathway anymore. If you have an offer from a PL club you take it.

 

We proved this season we can't integrate the youth properly. Page played well several times, and his reward was demotion to the U23's. Would rather have had Page playing instead of both Winks and Ramsey on Tuesday.

It's weird because logically the one obvious consequence of your Director of Football also being heavily involved in the academy should be that it's front and centre when it comes to recruiting managers, building the squad etc., and it's just not.

 

Ruud made a bit of an effort towards the end I think but Cooper, Cifuentes and Rowett have had basically no interest in using our prospects, and then we fill out the squad with decrepit old mercenaries, pointless benchwarmers like Aribo and youngsters from other teams to further limit the opportunities we give to our own. 

[st albans fox]

10 hours ago, Chelmofox said:

Footmob tells me he’s played 14 minutes this season. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him offloaded at some point. 

12 CL games

4 not in squad

2 games he got last minute of the game (one of those was at PSG which is amazing for him) 

1 game he got 23 mins 

5 games he just took in the atmosphere warming up 

let’s see where some of  those games were 

galatasaray

inter

Marseille 

 

Managed to get on the pitch in five PL games - again only fleeting appearances. 
played both of their EFL ties

 

 first choice eng U19 

 

that’s ok for an 18 y o 

 

they might loan him out next season to a league 1 or championship side …….   Wouldn’t be us !

 

 

[st albans fox]

2 minutes ago, Foxes1 said:

The U21's play Spurs tonight in the play-offs at Stevenage so doubt we will see any off them in the squad for Millwall this evening unfortunately 

They need to be as far away from the KP this evening as possible ! 
stevenage maybe too close to avoid the bad vibes ! 

 

now Blackburn are safe we should play/ include lots of kids next weekend 

[Ric Flair]

44 minutes ago, Chelmofox said:

There is no pathway anymore. If you have an offer from a PL club you take it.

 

We proved this season we can't integrate the youth properly. Page played well several times, and his reward was demotion to the U23's. Would rather have had Page playing instead of both Winks and Ramsey on Tuesday.

This is it, we had a massive opportunity to prove to our talented young players that they'd get the best platform to gain first team football at an early age and we blew it. Why would they stay here?

[Chelmofox]

12 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

This is it, we had a massive opportunity to prove to our talented young players that they'd get the best platform to gain first team football at an early age and we blew it. Why would they stay here?

And you read St Albans post. Top 6 PL team, you get to travel for European football, more cup opportunities etc. I would assume Monga has had far more minutes tha Nyoni, but no way would the experience here have been better for his development. 
 

The handling of both Page and Aluko ( to a lesser extent with Aluko) has really pissed me off. Like, properly annoyed me. Forum members often criticised Page but really through the lens verses a top experience player. Everytime he came on I saw a professional who played well, and I saw him improving. He got dumped for project Rowett. 
 

I would rather have had Page on the end of those chances than Ramsey on Tuesday night. (I realise I keep saying this!!!!  But it really pissed me off!!!!!!)

Edited 24 April by Chelmofox

[Ric Flair]

2 minutes ago, Chelmofox said:

And you read St Albans post. Top 6 PL team, you get to travel for European football, more cup opportunities etc. I would assume Monga has had far more minutes tha Nyoni, but no way would the experience here have been better for his development. 
 

The handling of both Page and Aluko ( to a lesser extent with Aluko) has really pissed me off. Like, properly annoyed me. Forum members often criticised Page but really through the lens verses a top experience player. Everytime he came on I saw a professional who played well, and I saw him improving. He got dumped for project Rowett. 
 

I would rather have had Page on the end of those chances than Ramsey on Tuesday night. 

And even after a few years of a handful of chances they'll then go elsewhere and likely get 1st team football anyway.

 

Tyrese Noubissie left us at 14 for Man City and thrn at 16 gone to Strasbourg and is now around their 1st team.

 

There will be some that harm their chances, but we are hardly a no brainer either in that regard. 

 

 

[Rubbersoul]

10 minutes ago, Chelmofox said:

And you read St Albans post. Top 6 PL team, you get to travel for European football, more cup opportunities etc. I would assume Monga has had far more minutes tha Nyoni, but no way would the experience here have been better for his development. 
 

The handling of both Page and Aluko ( to a lesser extent with Aluko) has really pissed me off. Like, properly annoyed me. Forum members often criticised Page but really through the lens verses a top experience player. Everytime he came on I saw a professional who played well, and I saw him improving. He got dumped for project Rowett. 
 

I would rather have had Page on the end of those chances than Ramsey on Tuesday night. (I realise I keep saying this!!!!  But it really pissed me off!!!!!!)

Rowett opting for “senior pros” has gone amazing. 
 

We’d have still gone down with Page in the side but at least it would’ve shown the pathway is there. I obviously have no idea what goes on behind the scenes so could be waffling. 
 

Page looked so much more confident and stronger when he came back into the side. At the very least he’d have bloody run! 

[Chelmofox]

4 minutes ago, Rubbersoul said:

Rowett opting for “senior pros” has gone amazing. 
 

We’d have still gone down with Page in the side but at least it would’ve shown the pathway is there. I obviously have no idea what goes on behind the scenes so could be waffling. 
 

Page looked so much more confident and stronger when he came back into the side. At the very least he’d have bloody run! 

What is worse is we could all see it coming. We all know that Winks produces nothing, that Ayew is just Ayew, Daka's incompetence etc. We all saw Riccy's decline in realtime. We all knew that Mavididi has produced next to nothing for nearly 2 years now. The whole thing has been baffling.

[dmayne7]

40 minutes ago, Ric Flair said:

And even after a few years of a handful of chances they'll then go elsewhere and likely get 1st team football anyway.

 

Tyrese Noubissie left us at 14 for Man City and thrn at 16 gone to Strasbourg and is now around their 1st team.

 

There will be some that harm their chances, but we are hardly a no brainer either in that regard. 

 

 

People will point to some of the young players that have gone on to be established PL players in the last few years, but we have always been absolutely abysmal at developing young players. It's easy for people to say that they have amounted to nothing but so much of football (and life) is about timing and luck. There's going to be 100's/1000's of players who could have been great top flight players but circumstances (and themselves) conspired against them. We've had the best example of that in Vardy who's one of the greatest strikers this country's ever had, yet he could have been rotting away and never played professional football.

 

The issue is that I look at lots of other teams and they might give players 5-10ish cameo appearances whereas we never do that. This year we've finally got some better prospects out on loan but even some of those have been questionable; Alves, Braybrooke going back to L2. 

 

If the club had any vague authority, or a plan for the future, they should have been mandating that at least 2 academy players (Page, Monga, Aluko etc) are included in every squad. Wouldn't have stopped some of the bizarre decisions to not use them (looking at Monga), but at least shows the pathway. Fact they've all been binned off at some point is embarrassing, especially when all 3 either proved they were ready or the needs of the team meant they should play.

 

Said last year with Monga he'd have been better off at Man City, and feels like that's true. Why an earth would any player think it's a better career path for them to see if they'll get a chance at a championship club, now L1, when they go do the exact same at the biggest clubs in the world? And depressingly, probably have a beer chance of first team action.

[st albans fox]

Regarding page 

I’d like to believe that Rowett with his experience saw an environment wasn’t conducive to a player of page’s age and decided to shield him from it.  I mean we have no idea how the kid was coping mentally. 

 

I don’t believe that’s true but it’s a tiny possibility ! 
 

the commitment we made to Monga on his scholar contract where he gets a very good wage at 18 is looking a bust with us where we now are. Hence no surprise to see him linked with a move away.  

[dmayne7]

52 minutes ago, Chelmofox said:

And you read St Albans post. Top 6 PL team, you get to travel for European football, more cup opportunities etc. I would assume Monga has had far more minutes tha Nyoni, but no way would the experience here have been better for his development. 
 

The handling of both Page and Aluko ( to a lesser extent with Aluko) has really pissed me off. Like, properly annoyed me. Forum members often criticised Page but really through the lens verses a top experience player. Everytime he came on I saw a professional who played well, and I saw him improving. He got dumped for project Rowett. 
 

I would rather have had Page on the end of those chances than Ramsey on Tuesday night. (I realise I keep saying this!!!!  But it really pissed me off!!!!!!)

Touched on some of this in my post but re Page, I called this out the other day in his thread and had been meaning to for a while, but Page's case is beyond frustrating.

 

He wasn't ready earlier in the season but did ok. When he was then dropped it was disappointing he wasn't in the squad but I thought fair enough to some extent. But then he went away with England U17's and came back in under King (might be wrong on that) and looked a completely different player. Had matured a massive amount in that time, especially physically where he looked well up for it, and generally looked a class above (probably because he wasn't burdened by the failings of the current team). Yet as soon as Rowett's in, he's out the door for the least bothered player in the squad. Absolutely baffling when you want players up for the fight. What kind of a message does that send to bot just the young players, but the culture in the first team. Probably contributes to our downfall.

 

Unfortunately, as a fan base, we're also awful at supporting young players. It's not that they can't be criticised but people go in on them from day 1 and any mistake they make is worse than any other player. Happened with people like Chilwell and we've seen it with Nelson, who yes, hasn't been great, but depressingly still probably the best of the centre backs we've used this year.

[moore_94]

Just now, dmayne7 said:

Unfortunately, as a fan base, we're also awful at supporting young players. It's not that they can't be criticised but people go in on them from day 1 and any mistake they make is worse than any other player. Happened with people like Chilwell and we've seen it with Nelson, who yes, hasn't been great, but depressingly still probably the best of the centre backs we've used this year.

There are certain people just waiting for a young player to have a poor performance so they can get their I told you so’s in

[dmayne7]

1 minute ago, moore_94 said:

There are certain people just waiting for a young player to have a poor performance so they can get their I told you so’s in

I think it must be jealousy. Just odd behaviour. I know that academy players aren't all local or Leicester fans these days, but if you could choose a squad that was successful, wouldn't you want it to be all academy players? Not to mention the economic benefit of giving young players a chance to develop.