Leicester City F.C. Under-21s and Academy
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| Full name | Leicester City Football Club Under-21s and Academy | |||
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| Nickname(s) | The Foxes | |||
| Ground | Leicester City F.C. Training Ground, Seagrave | |||
| Capacity | 499 | |||
| Owner | King Power | |||
| Chairman | Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha | |||
| Manager | Leon McSweeney (Under-21s) Adam Barradell (Under-18s) Matt Goodwin (Under-16s) | |||
| League | Premier League 2 and Premier League U18 | |||
| Website | http://www.lcfc.co.uk | |||
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Leicester City Under-21s are the former reserve team of Leicester City. The team mainly consists of under-21 players at the club, although senior players occasionally play in the reserve side, for instance when they are recovering from injury. The Under-21s team play in Premier League 2.
Leicester City F.C. Academy are the youth team of Leicester City directed by Jon Rudkin. Leicester City's academy has held Category 1 status under the Elite Player Performance Plan since July 2013.
History
[edit]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, Emile Heskey, Ben Chilwell and Harvey Barnes 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.
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.[3] However they exited the national play-off at the semi-final stage, after losing 3–2 to Cardiff.[4]
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.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7] 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.[8]
After having almost been relegated from Premier League 2 Division 1 in 2016–2017, Leicester Under 23s went on to finish third in PL2, while also getting to the semi-finals of the Premier League Cup.[9] 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.[10]
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.[11] Former under 12–16 Youth Development Phase Coach Adam Barradell took responsibility of the Under-18s during the summer of 2020.[12]
Having been in Premier League 2 Division 1 since its establishment as part of the Elite Player Performance Plan Leicester Under 23s were relegated to Division 2 on 10 May 2021 following a season that saw a number of under 23's players promoted to train with the first team due to a substantial injury list.[13] However, following an expansion of Premier League 2 Division 2 to 14 clubs, Leicester Under 23s were reinstated to the top division for the upcoming 2021–2022 season despite finishing second from bottom during the previous season.[14]
On 24 April 2023, after losing 1–4 against Everton, Leicester Under 23s were relegated to Division 2.[15]
Players
[edit]Under-21s
[edit]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Out on loan
[edit]- As of 26 July 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Under-18s
[edit]- As of 10 July 2024[18]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Staff
[edit]- As of 10 July 2024[19]
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Notable Graduates
[edit]Current Leicester City players in bold. Year of senior debut given in parentheses.
Sep Smith (1929)
Frank McLintock (1959)
Conrad Logan (2005 for Boston United)
Andy King (2007)
Max Gradel (2007 for Bournemouth)
Billy Mckay (2008 for Hinckley United)
Jeffrey Schlupp (2011 for Brentford)
Calvin Bassey (2020 for Rangers)
Leon James (2020 for Ratchaburi Mitr Phol)
Sidnei Tavares (2021)
Khanya Leshabela (2021)
Jakub Stolarczyk (2022 for Dunfermline Athletic)
Honours
[edit]U21
[edit]- Premier League 2 Division 1
- Runner-up: 2019–2020
- U21 Professional Development League 2 North Division
- Winners (1): 2012–2013
Academy
[edit]- HKFC International Soccer Sevens
- Shield Winners (1): 2011–2012
- Cup Winners (2): 2012–2013, 2016–2017
- Plate Winners (1): 2013–2014
- U15 Premier League Category 2 National Trophy
- Winners (1): 2012–2013
- U16 Premier League Cup
- Winners (1): 2023-2024
References
[edit]- ^ "Leicester City Academy chief proud of emerging talent". Leicester Mercury. 5 September 2009.
- ^ "English football Hall of Fame – Frank McLintock". National Football Museum. 2009.
- ^ "U21s Seal Top Spot With 3–0 Win". lcfc.com. Archived from the original on 27 May 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ^ "Under-21s Edged Out By Cardiff". lcfc.com. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
- ^ "Foxes Secure Hong Kong Sevens Crown". lcfc.com. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
- ^ "Leicester awarded Category One academy status". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ "Premier League International Cup launched". premierleague.com. 15 October 2014. Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ "Report: Leicester City 2 Benfica 0". lcfc.com. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
- ^ "Development Squad". lcfc.com. 1 August 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
- ^ "Choudhury Makes Maiden England U21s Appearance". lcfc.com. 27 May 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2018.
- ^ "Trevor Peake: The Man Behind The Magic". lcfc.com. 13 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ "'It's All About Performance For City's Under-18s'". lcfc.com. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ^ "Liverpool Defeat For City Under-23s in PL2". lcfc.com. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
- ^ "Man City begin PL2 title defence at Liverpool". premierleague.com. 26 July 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
- ^ "Costly Everton Defeat For Young Foxes". LCFC.com. 24 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ "LCFC Men U21s". Leicester City F.C. 2 August 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
- ^ "Wigan Athletic vs Leicester City U21 live score, H2H results, standings and prediction". sofascore.com. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "Leicester City retained list in full". LeicestershireLive. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
- ^ "Academy Staff". lcfc.com. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 13 February 2018.