Leicester City F.C. Under-23s and Academy

Leicester City Under-23s are the former reserve team of Leicester City. The team mainly consists of under-23 players at the club, although senior players occasionally play in the reserve side, for instance when they are recovering from injury. The Under-23s team are managed by Steve Beaglehole and they play in Premier League 2.

Leicester City F.C. Under-23s
Full nameLeicester City Football Club Under-23s and Academy
Nickname(s)The Foxes
GroundKing Power Stadium
Holmes Park
Belvoir Drive Training Complex
ManagerSteve Beaglehole (Under-23s)
Vacant (Under-18s)
LeaguePremier League 2 D1
WebsiteClub website

Leicester City F.C. Academy are the youth team of Leicester City, directed by Jon Rudkin and previously managed by Trevor Peake. Leicester City's academy has had category one status under the Elite Player Performance Plan since July 2013.

History

Although less famous than the likes of Manchester United or West Ham United's youth systems, the Leicester City Academy has been one of the more productive academies in the East Midlands. England internationals Peter Shilton, Gary Lineker, David Nish, Steve Whitworth and Emile Heskey, as well as Don Revie, who played for and managed England[1] all began their careers with the Foxes. Frank McLintock, a Scottish international, former footballer of the year and a double winning captain with Arsenal, who was described by Bob Paisley as the "player of the decade" at the end of the 1970s also came through the Foxes' ranks.[2] Leicester's all-time top appearance makers Graham Cross and Sep Smith were also among notable products of the academy.

The academy is overseen by director Jon Rudkin, with Steve Beaglehole currently holding the position of 'Development Coach', working in the new development league set up from the summer of 2012. [3][4] On 8 April 2013, Leicester City Under-21s won the newly formed 2012–13 Professional Development League 2 with a game to go, qualifying for the knockout stage.[5] However they exited the national play-off at the semi-final stage, after losing 3–2 to Cardiff.[6]

On 26 May 2013, the Leicester City Development Squad & Academy won the HKFC International Soccer Sevens cup, beating Newcastle United Reserves and Academy 2–0 thanks to goals from Michael Cain and Harry Panayiotou. The latter also went on to win player of the tournament.[7] On 4 July, it was announced that Leicester City's academy had been awarded category one status, the highest level under the Premier League's Elite Player Performance Plan.[8]

By finishing 6th in the 2013–14 Professional U21 Development League, Leicester City U21s qualified for the inaugural, 2014–15 edition, of the Premier League International Cup, being drawn in Group C with Manchester City, Benfica and Schalke 04.[9] On 24 November 2014, Leicester City U21s became the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals, after defeating Schalke 04 and Benfica, both 2–0 at the King Power Stadium.[10]

After having almost been relegated from Premier League 2 Division 1 in 2016–2017, Leicester Under 23's went on to finish third in PL2, while also getting to the semi-finals of the Premier League Cup.[11] In addition, several of the under 23's gained first team experience under manager Claude Puel with Harvey Barnes and Hamza Choudhury playing prominent roles towards the end of the 2017–2018 season. This subsequently lead to Hamza Choudhury gaining his first England Under 21s cap during the Toulan Tournament.[12]

On 13 June 2020 the club announced that long-serving coach Trevor Peake was stepping down from his role as Under-18s coach after 17 years of service.[13]

The Players

Under 23s
As of 26 June 2020[14][15]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
33 MF Bartosz Kapustka
36 FW Admiral Muskwe
38 MF Thakgalo Leshabela
39 DF Darnell Johnson
43 GK Jakub Stolarczyk
44 DF Vontae Daley-Campbell
45 FW George Hirst
46 MF Callum Wright
47 FW Josh Felix-Eppiah
49 MF Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
No. Position Player
50 DF Darragh O'Connor
51 MF Callum Hulme
52 DF Mitch Clark
53 MF Tyrese Shade
55 FW Ali Reghba
56 DF Luke Thomas
— GK Daniel Iversen
— DF Sam Hughes
— MF Josh Knight
— MF Layton Ndukwu

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
— MF Kamal Sowah (at OH Leuven until 30 June 2020)

Under 18s
As of 26 June 2020[16]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
— GK Oliver Bosworth
— GK Chituru Odunze
— DF Tom Sams
— DF Bailey Aisthorpe
60 DF Dennis Gyamfi
— DF Oliver Murch
— DF Johnly Yfeko
— DF Daniel Obi
— MF Kalis Gore
— MF Joshua Walsh
— MF Liam Loughlan
— MF Oliver Ewing
— MF Wanya Marcal-Madivadua
No. Position Player
— MF Ethan Fitzhugh
— MF Connor Barrett
58 MF Adam Leathers
— MF Kasey McAteer
— MF Sidnei Tavares
— MF Shane Flynn
59 MF Dempsey Arlott-John
— MF Johnson Gyamfi
— FW Elliot Webber
65 FW Terrell Pennant
61 FW Will Russ
— FW Jahquan Springer

Staff
As of 09 June 2020[17]
Under-23 Management
RolePerson
Under-23 Manager Steve Beaglehole
Under-23 Coach Ben Petty
Academy Team Management
RolePerson
Academy Director Jon Rudkin
Academy Manager Ian Cawley
Head Of Academy Coach Development Paul Cheney
Head of Education Matthew Clarke
Lead Pro Development Coach Under-18s Vacant
Lead Youth Development Coach Under-16s Adam Barradell
Assistant Lead Youth Development Coach Rodney Ballantine
Academy Goalkeeper Coach Glyn Thompson
Academy Strength and Conditioning Coach Chris Organ
Head Academy Physiotherapist Ben Harwood
Head of Academy Sports Science Kevin Paxton
Academy Lead Sport Scientist Gary Capes
Academy Lead Analyst Ryan DeFreitas
Academy Recruitment Bill Wall
Loans Manager Guy Branston

Notable Graduates

Current Leicester City players in bold.

           

Honours
  • Premier Academy League
    • Winners: 2006-07
    • Group B Winners: 2009-10, 2011-12
    • Group B Runners Up: 2008-09, 2010-11
    • PL2 Division 1 Third Place: 2017-2018
  • HKFC International Soccer Sevens
    • Shield Winners: 2011-12
    • Cup Winners: 2012-13, 2016-17
    • Plate Winners: 2013-14
  • U21 Professional Development League 2 North Division
    • Winners: 2012-13
  • U15 Premier League Category 2 National Trophy
    • Winners: 2012-13

References
  1. "Leicester City Academy chief proud of emerging talent". Leicester Mercury. 5 September 2009.
  2. "English football Hall of Fame – Frank McLintock". National Football Museum. 2009.
  3. "Leicester City F.C. Coaching Staff". lcfc.com. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  4. "Leicester City F.C. Academy Staff". lcfc.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  5. "U21s Seal Top Spot With 3-0 Win". lcfc.com. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  6. "Under-21s Edged Out By Cardiff". lcfc.com. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  7. "Foxes Secure Hong Kong Sevens Crown". lcfc.com. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  8. "Leicester awarded Category One academy status". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  9. "Premier League International Cup launched". premierleague.com. 15 October 2014. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  10. "Report: Leicester City 2 Benfica 0". lcfc.com. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  11. "Development Squad". lcfc.com. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  12. "Choudhury Makes Maiden England U21s Appearance". lcfc.com. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
  13. "Trevor Peake: The Man Behind The Magic". lcfc.com. 13 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
  14. "Development Squad". lcfc.com. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
  15. "Starting Lineups - Scunthorpe vs Leicester U21". skysports.com. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  16. "Leicester V Norwich, 2019/20 U18 Premier League". premierleague.com. 10 August 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  17. "Academy Staff". lcfc.com. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
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