Academy Talking Points

With our Under-21s and Under-18s sat in second and fourth in their league tables respectively, we've taken a look at some key early talking points.

A smooth Head Coach transition

With Steve Wigley's excellent record as Head Coach of first our Under-18s and then Under-21s, understandably there would have been worries about a switch in leadership. However, any initial concerns would have been quickly extinguished with Hayden Mullins making a dream start since joining the Club in the Summer.

Our first three games this season consisted of a trip north to face a tough Wolves side, a battle with reigning PL2 champions Manchester City at Motspur Park and an EFL Trophy encounter against League One promotion contenders Portsmouth. 

Throughout that period, Mullins was having to deal with a fairly extensive injury list and several players leaving the group to head out on loan. Nevertheless, we picked up a mightily impressive seven points from those three. The young Whites then followed that up with two awe-inspiring performances against Crystal Palace and Southampton.

Early days, of course, but a promising start to life at Fulham for Mullins.

An impressive statistic

After playing five games in all competitions, our Under-21s are one of only three teams to have remained unbeaten in all competitions, alongside Tottenham Hotspur and Middlesbrough. It's also worth noting that neither of those two sides have faced a senior outfit in the EFL Trophy, with Spurs' opener against Colchester United pencilled in for next Tuesday.

Our youngsters sit second to Spurs on goal difference, with both sides having picked up wins in each of their opening four PL2 games. 

Donnell proving a handy addition

Our Australian youth international Chris Donnell has flourished since signing for the Club back in July.

The 19-year-old has started in all but one of our games, which was due to unavailability while representing his nation. Donnell played a huge part in our winning goal against Manchester City, powering down the left before delivering a low cross which indirectly led to Martial Godo's finish.

He then scored his first competitive goal for the Club just a few days later, latching onto Olly Sanderson's pass to put us ahead against Portsmouth after just one minute at Fratton Park.

His impressive run continued at Selhurst Park, where he directed a brilliant bullet header into the corner to put us 3-0 up before half-time.

Olyott making an impact

Tom Olyott joined Fulham in July 2022 from Manchester City, but an existing injury slowed his progress slightly in his first season with us. 

The young right-winger began to display his potential after returning, scoring five and assisting three in all competitions towards the back end of the campaign.

However, having had the whole of the recent pre-season to strengthen, he has reached an even higher level so far this season for our Under-18s. Despite only playing three league games, he has already notched five goals and an assist in a side who have made a decent start.

Tom's impressive form continued on the international stage, with the 17-year-old curling in a beautiful cross to grab an assist on his debut for Republic of Ireland Under-19s.

Scholars settling in nicely

It's been another successful introduction for our young scholars, who have settled into the system well so far. Dino Kaiser, Samuel Tabares, Bradley Slade and Josh King all started our first game of the season against Reading, with Jayden Quashie, Jon Esenga and Farhaan Ali-Wahid coming on from the bench. Eddie Nsasi was then named on the team sheet the following week at West Ham.

Samuel Amissah even managed to get a taste of the First Team environment, travelling with Marco Silva's squad for the Premier League Summer Series in America, going on to make an appearance off the bench against Aston Villa.

Like Olyott, King also impressed on the international stage recently, grabbing two assists for England Under-17s as they beat Spain 4-1.

Head Coach Ali Melloul will feel encouraged by their progress so far and excited to see more over the coming months.