Cody Drameh
The energetic full back has heavily impressed at both U23 and U18 level this season. Cody played a crucial part in the U18 journey in the FA Youth Cup, creating several goals for his teammates and scoring one himself, whilst also maintaining his defensive duties to a great standard. Having trained with the first team all season long, it is a surprise to me that Cody has yet to make a senior appearance.
He is the first choice right-back for the U23, pushing Marlon Fossey, who’s just come back from a long term injury, to left back. On occasions the pair have alternated but with the ability and work rate which Cody possesses, it would be hard for anyone to take his place on a team sheet.
Drameh has featured for England U18’s on a few occasions and whilst it’s clear to see that he is winning all the plaudits for his excellent performances, the stats are also in his favour; he has 7 assists in 17 games for the PL2 side which is incredible for any full back at any level. His goal contribution of 26% shows that Cody is clearly excelling at youth level and I believe he should be tested at senior level and under the guidance of Scott Parker and Stuart Gray, we could have a real player on our hands.
Fabio Carvalho
The promising starlet is an England U18 international, playing at a higher international level than former teammate Harvey Elliott, he is a footballer who would heavily appeal to a statistician as the attacking midfielder has 15 goal contributions in 21 league youth appearances. Having made U18 football look too easy for him, Carvalho was quickly promoted to the PL2 squad where he has been the star performer all season.
Carvalho’s contract is up in the summer of 2021 and the club will surely offer him a new deal to keep the bigger clubs out of interest from snapping up arguably the most promising player in the academy.
Having seen teammates Jay Stansfield and Sylvester Jasper both make the transition from youth to first team football, Fabio has every right to feel hard done by that he hasn’t replicated the successes of his colleagues. Once described as one of the ‘20 talents to watch in England’ by The Guardian, Carvalho will almost definitely be a part of Scott Parker’s pre-season plans.
Martell Taylor-Crossdale
The dominant striker has scored twice in two appearances for the England Under 20 side and his poaching ability within the box is like no other. His scoring instincts meant that Fulham had to compete with several clubs abroad to secure his services. Unlike Cody and Fabio, Martell has featured for Fulham, appearing in the Carabao Cup defeat to Southampton earlier on in the season.
Martell, who we signed from Chelsea in the summer has scored a goal every three games for an under-performing PL2 team, and his huge presence on the pitch has been integral to the PL2 side. What tends to happen with strikers is that they are based purely on stats, however, Martell looks good stats-wise but his class and know how on the field shows spectators that it is only a matter of time before he breaks through into our first team and pushes the likes of Aleksander Mitrovic for a name in a matchday squad in the future.
Having came through the same Chelsea youth team as the likes of Callum Hudson-Odoi, who was there to see Martell score a hat trick vs Reading u23s earlier on in the season, and also the likes of Reece James and Billy Gilmour, Martell will undoubtedly have the desire to follow in the successes of such players and I believe that he needs to feature in our first team in the near future to help continue his excellent development.
Comment You missed the one with the most tallent JAY STANSFIELD
No mention of Jay Stansfield – who looks to me like an outstanding prospect.
Good to read of solid prospects for these three players. A perspective though is that whereas the Under 18’s were having a great season the PL2 side we’re having a disappointing one. Along with Stansfield these 3 are encouraging.