Birmingham City's academy production line has slowed under Chris Davies, but seven promising youngsters could still make an impact. Zaid Betteka, Briar Bateman, Riquelme Thompson-Jones, Louie Rea, Max Pearce, Alfie Smith, and Grandel Boateng are the key prospects.
Davies' Preference for Experience Limits Academy Chances
One knock on Chris Davies’ tenure as Birmingham City manager is the lack of homegrown talent seeping through to the first team. There is an understanding within the building that Davies has always faced pressure to deliver immediate results, hence why he has favoured experience, but there are plenty outside Blues’ tent who believe he could have carried a few academy players during the club’s League One-winning season. Even when the league was wrapped up with a month to go, Davies’ quest for perfection meant that no youngster was even given a sniff of first team minutes in the third tier.
Zaid Betteka: The Most Fancied Prospect
Zaid Betteka is the only academy starlet to have played first team minutes – via brief FA Cup cameos versus Lincoln City and Leeds United – under Davies in the last two seasons. Betteka has no shortage of ability and those who watched Blues’ friendly against Sevilla last year, which the 19-year-old started in an otherwise first team XI, will tell you that he looked the part. Everything looked set for Betteka to play a bit-part role this season but Davies clearly isn’t quite convinced and never has been. Blues were down to their bare bones in January with injuries and Davies overlooked Betteka for a place on the bench when he might have been a useful option in a time of need. Betteka only made Blues’ bench once last season and he was a 114th minute substitute for a spent Jhon Solis in an FA Cup tie against Leeds United that was eventually lost on penalties.
Briar Bateman: Speed and Promise
Alongside Betteka, Bateman has been pushed forward by the academy in recent years. The youngster has been included in the club's last two overseas pre-season training camps and he was one of two youngsters pictured at the first team's base on the first day of pre-season earlier this week. A forward by trade, Bateman has searing speed off the flanks and grabbed a couple of goals in 12 Premier League 2 outings last term.
Riquelme Thompson-Jones: First Professional Year Ahead
Thompson-Jones will celebrate his 18th birthday this month and is about to embark upon his first year as a professional after making an impression for the under-21s last term. He was invited to train with the first team at the start of pre-season, which is always a good sign. Thompson-Jones has some filling out to do, like most players of his age, and suffered with some injuries in the second year of his scholarship, but there is talent there.
Louie Rea: Midfield Goalscorer
Rea is one of the teenagers in line to turn professional with Blues this summer and provided goals from midfield for both the under-18s and under-21s last season. The midfielder scored three goals in nine PL2 games, which isn't to be sniffed at given how Blues struggled at the level, and notched a belting free-kick in the FA Youth Cup defeat to Coventry City.
Goalkeeping Duo: Max Pearce and Alfie Smith
Now to the first of two highly promising goalkeepers coming through the ranks at Blues. Pearce, now 15, stepped up to U18 level and played in the FA Youth Cup when he was still 14 and he has been capped by England U15s. Pearce attracted attention last season for saving five penalties in one game for Blues’ U15s – two in normal time and three of the four he faced in a penalty shoot-out. Smith has kept goal regularly for Blues’ U18s last season and is now a member of the England U16 squad. He comes from a family of Bluenoses and has long been tipped for big things by youth football aficionados. The development of Smith and Pearce is something to watch out for over the next few years because they are among the best young goalkeepers in the country.
Grandel Boateng: Breaking Records
The prospects who play up the age groups are usually the ones who make it and Boateng recently became the youngest player to represent Blues’ U18s – eclipsing a record previously held by Jude Bellingham. Boateng was 14 years and 99 days old when he appeared for the U18s against Brighton. He is already on England’s radar having been called up to train with the U15s before Christmas.
Academy's Role: Profit or First Team?
The academy, which is now Category One and has seen huge investment in facilities over the past two years, is no longer necessarily building players for Blues’ first team. That remains the ideal, but Blues could give Knighthead a return on their £5m investment in Wast Hills by selling some players before they’ve even made the first team, and that is why the academy remains so important. Academies are still money-making machines but they can’t always produce players ready for the Premier League or top-end of the Championship. You won’t get many Jude Bellinghams, ready to play Championship football at 16 and dominating Champions League matches by 18. However, you might have one you loan out for a couple of years before selling to a Championship club for a couple of million. That is a model Premier League clubs have adopted to help in their quest to stay within financial rules. After all, money received for homegrown players is all profit on the balance sheets.
