With the Barclays Premier Reserve League getting under way, Fulham supporters will be seeing a lot more of the likes of Dan Burn, Lauri Dalla Valle, Alex Kacaniklic and, our summer signing from Everton, Tom Donegan in the future.
Speaking to fulhamfc.com, Academy Director Huw Jennings explained the sequence of events that saw the midfielder make the switch to Craven Cottage.
“We were opportunistic,” Jennings explained. “We saw Tom play for Everton – they were due to be our opponents in the Premier Academy League Final last season. Tom did very well in the semi-final and did extremely well in the final against us, which unfortunately we lost.
“We noticed that he was not yet signed at Everton and we nipped in.
“He’s a technically very able centre midfield player, he’s a very good passer with great touch and control. He links play very well and has a good understanding and appreciation of the game – which are all things you’re looking for in quality midfielder.”
Donegan joins a development squad that has been enjoying the benefits of a number of new additions. And, as Jennings explained, Billy McKinlay’s squad is looking stronger.
“We’ve been building as strongly as possible with our 16 to 18 programme and we’re starting to see the fruits of our labour a little bit with the likes of Kerim coming through,” said Jennings.
“We’ve got a gap between the ages of 19 and 21. Therefore what we’ve been looking to do is try and supplement that with the best players we can – with Alex Kacaniklic, Lauri Dalla Valle, Dan Burn and now Tom Donegan. We’re trying to build up that group so that we’ve got strong group of development squad players.”
