Sonic Youth
Sonic Youth
Will United’s academy stars be given a chance to impress in Monk's first team this season?
It’s a pleasure to have certified Friend of the Pod - in fact the very first - Matt Ramsay here to contribute monthly columns to UTAS subscribers. The first of which looks at the young prospects at the club and discusses whether Monk will give them more of a chance to prove themselves in the first team.
Over the summer months, there has been plenty of discussion about the progression pathway available to young U’s, as some members of the squad who embarked on that famous run to the FA Youth Cup quarter finals have moved on - but ended up higher in the pyramid.
Garry Monk’s line-ups in the first week of the season doesn’t mean that those young players remaining at the club won’t still be loaned out during 2024-25, but does raise hopes that the talents coming through will be given more of a chance to make an impression.
Of those who have departed, goalkeeper Tom Finch signed for Norwich. Greg Sandiford and most notably Kai Yearn both penned deals at Coventry.
While they are expected to feature in their development sides rather than turn out in the Championship, it is a clear sign of their reputations that they would make such moves despite Yearn only ever making a senior U’s appearance. His departure certainly raised eyebrows, with excitement surrounding his potential since marking his debut by becoming the club’s youngest ever scorer in August 2021.
Chances remained scarce and even loans never took him higher than King’s Lynn in the National League North, with Sandiford at Cambridge City and Finch at Dunstable and Corby.
The club still retains a number of exciting youngsters, and attentions now turn to whether they will find things easier to break into the first team scene.
Dan Barton was perhaps the man of the match on the famous night at the Emirates and was handed his professional debut at Stockport on Saturday, immediately showing his key attribute of direct running with the ball before playing in Shayne Lavery for a saved chance, just seconds after coming on.
He could still be held back by being one of the smallest footballers around, not that you’d think it from the way he played against QPR on Tuesday, and if reinforcements arrive in the coming weeks he could benefit from a loan to help him get more used to the physicality of men’s football.
But given his performance in the EFL Cup, fans will now be disappointed if he were to depart, such was the instant rapport he has gathered in his early displays. The reception he was granted upon his substitution on Tuesday was a memorable Abbey moment.
Brandon Njoku impressed when he was given chances by Neil Harris, though his start against QPR may have come about as a result of the lack of other options in the forward position. If signings arrive then he will surely find starts hard to come by so can expect a loan spell to gain more experience.
This is a key year for other members of that team who performed so memorable to beat Chelsea and run Arsenal so close in February 2023.
Glenn McConnell signed a new deal in the summer, having shown signs of why he is such a prospect under several different head coaches, before injury wrecked his hopes of a breakthrough under Garry Monk.
Amaru Kaunda wasn’t even a big part of that team but found himself on the first team bench at Blackburn in the FA Cup in January.
Alongside Barton he was given minutes alongside senior pros during pre-season, and they both really took the opportunity at Braintree; Barton twice the provider for Kaunda to twice be on the scoresheet in the second half. Kaunda was handed his first professional contract on the eve of the Stockport game last week and then made his debut late on against QPR, looking lively when he came on.
Until Tuesday, loans seemed the most likely short-term outcomes for the pair of them, though Garry Monk’s post-match comments suggest that Barton is now considered part of the first team squad.
Also only now entering his first year as a pro is a midfielder who will surely go on to make a strong impression on the side in the longer term. George Hoddle offers a rare combination of being elegant when carrying and offloading the ball while also not being afraid to throw himself into the physical stuff. An all round centre midfielder in the making.
He spent most of last season at St Albans City before returning to make two sub appearances at the end of the League One season. There will be few players anywhere in the country to have gained more experience of men’s football before turning 18.
That is perhaps what will work in Hoddle’s favour more than anyone else, the fact that he has gained that many minutes at such a young age away from academy football. The 6-0 loss to Colchester in pre-season will ultimately prove a beneficial experience despite the result, but showed up the physical disparity between those with experience and those needing to gain it. McConnell, Njoku, Barton and Kaunda all started that game, as did Ty Ewens-Findlay, a defender the club is very excited about.
Whether these young U’s turn out to be good enough remains to be seen in the months and years to come, but the early signs under Garry Monk this year indicate that they will at least be given the chances to find out.
Whether it’s in the coming weeks or in the longer term, one thing is for certain after Tuesday night. We’ll be seeing more of Dan Barton in a Cambridge United shirt.
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