Last week, the Cambridge United Youth Team attended their Pre-Season Camp at Oakham School, Rutland...
A fixture against Shrewsbury Town, sandwiched between several training sessions, gym sessions, analysis meetings and player workshops meant for a productive week in preparation for their season starting on August 7th.
They finished the week by playing against West Ham United U18’s at St Neots Town FC on Friday evening, where the young U’s side came out on top with a 1-0 victory, in what was a tight and competitive affair.
One of the key reasons for taking the Scholars away in Pre-Season is integrate the new First Year Scholars in to the group as seamlessly as possible.
Read about the Club's newest Scholars and their footballing journey up to this point below:
Brandon Njoku
Pacey forward Brandon is from Wembley and joins Cambridge United after spending his U16 season at West Ham United. A player who will always be looking to make forward runs to get into goalscoring positions. A brilliant character both on-and-off the pitch whose enthusiasm will rub off on all of his teammates.
Kai Yearn
Soham boy Kai has been with Cambridge United since the age of six years old. Kai’s performances last season earned him a regular place in the U18s during his U16 year which caught the attention of our First Team when he was named in Mark Bonners squad vs Peterborough United in the Papa John's Trophy in November 2020. The recognition didn’t stop there as Kai was selected for the Men’s U16 National Squad in April 2021. The attacking midfielder will hope that he continues to perform at a high level this forthcoming season.
Greg Sandiford
Exciting right-back Greg is another boy who has progressed through the Cambridge United Academy joining as an U10. The reliable full-back is solid defensively and also has the ability get forward creating in the attacking third.
Jaydyn Lott
Thetford born defender Jaydyn has progressed through the age groups with the Academy. The fully committed player can play as a centre-back and also as a right-back. Jayden has great leadership qualities and will demand high standards from himself and his teammates.
Oscar Winterbone
Left-sided Centre Back Oscar joins Cambridge United as a First Year Scholar. The Norfolk-born defender impressed Academy staff with his performances, in particularly with regards to his resilience towards the back-end of his U16 season.
Glenn McConnell
Another player to progress through our Academy system. Attacker McConnell finished as the youth teams top goalscorer in his U16 season as well as making a number of appearances for our U23 towards the back-end of the 2020-21 season. Glenn will be highly motivated to continue his progression this forthcoming season.
Tom Finch
Our first year goalkeeper Tom from Royston, joined as an U9 and was converted from an outfielder to play in goal for the academy at U11. Tom is a big presence and communicates very well with his team mates.
Dan Barton
Exciting winger Dan Barton has the ability to cause defenders a lot of problems with his low centre of gravity and speed. Cambourne based Barton another of our first years to progress through our school boy programme and gain a scholarship.
Faruq Usman
Striker Faruq Usman progressed through our Elite Centre and into our Academy at the end of his U13 season. The quick left-footed striker has the ability to get himself into goalscoring positions frequently and will be looking to add to his goal tally this forthcoming season.
We would like to thank St Neots Town for allowing us to host the fixture vs West Ham United and we hope that U’s fans can join us for this Friday's First Team match against Brentford XI. Tickets are available to buy now.