Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Development Squad and Academy

Wolverhampton Wanderers Under-23s (or the Development squad) is a football team that competes in Division 2 of the newly created Premier League 2. The club qualify as an entrant in the competition, by virtue of their academy holding Category 1 status.[1] Although the league is designed for players aged 23 and below, three overage players may also feature.

The team is currently under the management of James Collins and home games are primarily staged at AFC Telford United's New Bucks Head home, though the team also plays games at Molineux.[2] The team has been a pathway into Wolves' first team for the past two seasons, with the likes of current first-team players Oskar Buur, Matt Doherty, Morgan Gibbs-White and Max Kilman progressing from the U21 side.

Development Squad and U23s

Players in italics have featured in a first-team match day squad during the 2020-21 season.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ENG James Pardington — GK  DEN Andreas Søndergaard — GK  ENG Jackson Smith — DF  ENG Michael Agboola — DF  HUN Dániel Csóka — DF  AUT Pascal Estrada — DF  ENG Ed Francis — DF  ENG Cameron John — DF  ENG Joseph Joseph — DF   SUI Christian Marques — DF  ENG Luke Matheson — DF  CTA Cyriaque Mayounga — DF  FRA Raphaël Nya — DF  USA Owen Otasowie — DF  IRL Lewis Richards — DF  ENG Dion Sanderson

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  NIR Jack Scott — MF  ENG Luke Cundle — MF  ENG Sadou Diallo — MF  ENG Taylor Perry — MF  IRL Connor Ronan — MF  GER Meritan Shabani — MF  WAL Terry Taylor — MF  ENG Hong Wan — FW  ENG Benny Ashley-Seal — FW  WAL Chem Campbell — FW  IRL Conor Carty — FW  ROU Theodor Corbeanu — FW  AZE Renat Dadashov — FW  ENG Niall Ennis — FW  CHN Dongda He — FW  ENG Austin Samuels

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ENG Ryan Giles (on loan at Coventry City) — DF  NOR John Kitolano (on loan at Molde)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  SVK Christián Herc (on loan at Viktoria Plzeň) — MF  CHN David Wang (on loan at Nantong Zhiyun)

Academy and Under 18s

Wolverhampton Wanderers Academy is a Category 1 status facility and has produced several high-profile graduates including internationals Robbie Keane and Joleon Lescott.[3] Many other players have gone on to play first team football at Molineux, including current first-team player Morgan Gibbs-White

The academy is managed by Scott Sellars, with Steve Davis the current U18 lead coach and is based at the club's Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground.[4][5]

All players are correct in accordance to the Wolves Official Website (not including trialists)[6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  ISL Pálmi Rafn Arinbjörnsson — GK  ENG Joe O’Shaughnessy — GK  ENG Joe Young — DF  SIN Harry Birtwistle — DF  ESP Hugo Bueno Lopez — DF  NED Justin Hubner — DF  ENG Kam Kandola — DF  ENG Dexter Lembikisa — DF  NED Nigel Lonwijk — DF  ENG Ollie Tipton

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  ENG Amarie Brown — MF  WAL Owen Hesketh — MF  ENG Jack Hodnett — MF  ENG Aaron Keto-Diyawa — MF  ENG Dean Pinnington — FW  ESP Erik Bugarin — FW  ENG Jaden Forrester — FW  NIR Lee Harkin — FW  ENG Tyler Roberts — FW  LBR Faisu Sangare

Michael Bristow Trophy / Academy Scholar of the Year

The Michael Bristow trophy is named after Mike Bristow, a lifelong Wolverhampton Wanderers FC supporter, who died in 2008.

The trophy was donated to Wolverhampton Wanderers FC by Keith Brown.

The trophy is a sterling silver cup, below which are engraved the names of the annual winner, which is decided upon by Wolves and awarded annually to their Academy Scholar of the Year. The trophy is retained in the trophy room at the Molineux.

The presentation is generally made on the pitch in one of the final first team home games of the season, by Keith Brown, Hazel Bristow and Matt Bristow. The winner is given an engraved trophy donated by Keith Brown or Hazel Bristow, to mark their achievement.

Season	Winner
2009	John Dunleavy
2010	Jamie Reckord
2011	Johnny Gorman
2012	Sam Whittall
2013	Dominic Iorfa
2014	Ibrahim Keita
2015	Regan Upton
2016	Ryan Leak
2017	Cameron John
2018	Ryan Giles
2019	Taylor Perry

References

1. http://www.wolves.co.uk/news/article/in-reserve-010812-285590.aspx?pageView=full
2. http://www.wolves.co.uk/news/article/in-reserve-010812-285590.aspx?pageView=full
3. "Category One academy". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 27 July 2012.
4. "Scott Sellars appointed as Head of Academy". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 12 March 2019.
5. "Academy undergoes summer restructure". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 7 September 2019.
6. https://www.wolves.co.uk/team/under-18/