Let’s begin by using the Premier League’s definition of what constitutes a homegrown player:
A “Home-Grown Player” means a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21).
For the 2022-23 season, we registered seven such players: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson, Caoimhin Kelleher, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Nat Phillips.
Given that Milner and Ox may be leaving us at the end of the season, and possibly Kelleher and Nat, too, then we may need to be careful about letting go of Gomez on top of those. And, if we do make any signings, then a homegrown player or two would be nice.
By the way, Bajcetic, Elliott and Carvalho are too young to qualify as homegrown next season.
So this season we announced a 24-man squad since we had 7 homegrown.
So without Caoimhin Kelleher, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Nat Phillips something that could be expected we need 4 new homegrown and the squad can not be larger than 24 otherwise we need 5 new homegrown players.
Might go somewhere to explaining why we were reported to be looking at players like Mount and Gallagher from Chelsea and Phillips from City as well as Harvey Barnes and Jared Bowen last season.
What would benefit us to a larger capacity would be scouting and recruiting more young players like Canos, Chiri, Baj and bringing them up through our academy with the chance of viewing them as homegrown once they’ve stayed for the 3 year period…this is where I don’t understand how Harvey/Fabio can’t be classed as homegrown from next season…they absolutely should be.
A Home Grown Player, as defined by the Premier League, is a player who: (a) is 21 or older on January 1 of the year in which that season begins; (b) spent three years between the ages of 16 and 21 with a team in the English football League system.
Doesn’t say you have to be over the age of 21 to be classed as homegrown.
Fabio turns 21 during the summer though.Are the likes of Elliott and Bajcetic counted as an addittion to the 25 man squad,so we could have as many as we wanted and they could all be first team players?
Could we have a squad of players under 21 who have only been registered with a league club for 2 years and have more than 25 of them.
Anyone know why Welshies count as homegrown but Scotts don’t? Separate FA’s, separate league, separate national team. Is it just because some Welsh teams play in English leagues?
Its not nationality, but the association the club they came up at is affiliated with. e.g. Fabregas was homegrown because he arrived at Chelsea at 16. If Jude stays at Dortmund for one more year he wouldnt be should he come to the Prem some time alter
The homegrown designation is not relevant to players young enough to be on the B list. One complication is that to be on the B list for UEFA competition you not only have to be the right age but have been at the club for 2 seasons, which was why Bajcetic was in the A list in the first half of the season (his 2 year anniversary occurred after the group stages finished).
Sorry maybe I wasn’t clear. It says clubs affiliated with the FA or FA of Wales. Does that mean a kid playing for a team in the Welsh league in his formative years could be classed as homegrown playing for an English club later on.
But, the same would not be true for a kid coming through at a Scottish or Northern Irish club. What makes Wales the exception?
Our top 4 sides are affiliated with the English FA. I would have to read the regs carefully, but my guess it is a way to cover them, but that in the unlikely event of a kid who came up through the academy at Connah’s Quey and made it to the Prem, it wouldnt count for him.
There is the problem of the “Brexit bonus” for academy players. We had a policy of scouting across Europe for promising young players and trying to bring them through the academy.
We had a few cases where players were signed up to the academy but had to be loaned out because we couldn’t get visas for them. Taiwo Awoniyi was a very obvious example. He is Nigerian and had to be loaned out to German sides. Ironically, he was eventually signed by Nottingham Forest.
The problem post Brexit is that we can only get players from the UK and Ireland in the academy so promising French, Spanish or wherever players are out of bounds unless they have a UK or Ireland connection that they could fall back on.
It’s not really ironic, since he actually got his visa the summer we sold him to Union Berlin if I recall correctly. Since he had already been granted one previously, I assume it counted towards his getting one for Forest.
Its because when football was founded,there was no Welsh league or Welsh FA at the time,the clubs were then invited to play in the English league in the 1920’s i think.
And yes,Welsh kids are classed as homegrown to any team in the English league systems.
