Brighton & Hove Albion are delighted to announce that 11 players have been offered U18 first year scholarships for the upcoming 2018-19 season.
Last season the young Seagulls side - managed by Mark Beard and Mikey Harris, achieved an eighth-place finish in the U18 Premier League, with a number of players receiving international call-ups throughout the campaign and others receiving professional deals.
Mark Beard, under-18s assistant professional development coach, discussed the latest intake of young Albion players ahead of the new season.
“We met the new players and their parents on Saturday and gave them all a presentation, and we also showed it to the second years as well to give them a picture of how their life will change as a full-time footballer.
“They take on an education aspect which is half of their scholarship, and they also have elements such as the strength and conditioning side of the game, psychology, medical, welfare and performance analysis.
“We had a good crop of under-16s last year who played a lot with us at under-18 level, and we’ve recruited both nationally and internationally, as well as offering opportunities to local players from the academy.
“The likes of Ben Clark-Eden, Haydn Roberts, Jack Spong, Roco Rees, Teddy Jenks and Sam Packham have been here from a young age.
“Ayo Tanimowo has signed from Norwich City and Stefan Vukoje has come from Luton Town. We then have Ben Wilson who has come over from Northern Ireland, Mark Leonard who has joined from Hearts and Lorent Tolaj who has joined from FC Sion in Switzerland so we’re really excited about the campaign.
“There’s a pathway here and we want to see them progress as both individuals and as a team.”
The full list of players is as follows: Ayo Tanimowo, Stefan Vukoje, Jack Spong, Sam Packham, Teddy Jenks, Lorent Tolaj, Ben Wilson, Mark Leonard, Roco Rees, Haydn Roberts, Ben Clark-Eden.
All of these contracts began on July 1st.