Nickname(s) The Foxes Founded 1884 | Website Club home page Ground King Power Stadium | |
Full name Leicester City Development Squad & Academy Ground Capacity King Power Stadium 32,262 Owner King Power International Chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha League Professional Development League Managers Steve Beaglehole, Jon Rudkin | ||
Leicester City Under-23s are the reserve team of Leicester City F.C. The team mainly consists of Under-23 players at the club, although senior players occasionally play in the reserve side, for instance when they are recovering from injury. The Under-23s team are managed by Steve Beaglehole and they play in the Premier League 2.
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Leicester City F.C. Academy are the youth team of Leicester City F.C, managed & directed by Jon Rudkin. Leicester City's academy has had category one status under the Elite Player Performance Plan since July 2013.
History
Although less famous than the likes of Manchester United or West Ham United's youth systems, the Leicester City Academy has been one of the more productive academies in the East Midlands. England internationals Peter Shilton, Gary Lineker, David Nish, Steve Whitworth and Emile Heskey, as well as Don Revie, who played for and managed England all began their careers with the Foxes. Frank McLintock, a Scottish international, former footballer of the year and a double winning captain with Arsenal, who was described by Bob Paisley as the "player of the decade" at the end of the 1970s also came through the Foxes' ranks. Leicester's all-time top appearance makers Graham Cross and Sep Smith were also among notable products of the academy.
Current first-team players such as Welsh international Andy King, Ghanaian international Jeffrey Schlupp, defender Liam Moore and goalkeeper Conrad Logan have come through the club's youth system in recent years. Young strikers Tom Hopper and Harry Panayiotou also made their debuts in 2012, Harry Panayiotou dramatically scoring the final goal in a 2–1 win against Leeds United in the last game of the 2011–12 season. Tom Hopper was given the number 21 shirt ahead of the 2012–13 season.
The academy is overseen by director Jon Rudkin, with Steve Beaglehole currently holding the position of 'Development Coach', working in the new Under-21 league set up from the summer of 2012. Trevor Peake and Chris Tucker currently look after the under 18s, whilst Kevin Fogg and Paul Cheney are in charge of the under 16s and below. On 8 April 2013 Leicester City Under 21's won the newly formed 2012–13 Professional Development League 2 with a game to go, qualifying for the knockout stage. However they exited the national play-off at the semi-final stage, after losing 3–2 to Cardiff.
On 26 May 2013, Leicester City Development Squad & Academy won the HKFC International Soccer Sevens cup, beating Newcastle United F.C. Reserves and Academy 2–0 thanks to goals from Michael Cain and Harry Panayiotou. The latter also went on to win player of the tournament. On 4 July, it was announced that Leicester City's academy had been awarded category one status, the highest level under the Premier League's Elite Player Performance Plan.
By finishing 6th in the 2013–14 Professional U21 Development League, Leicester City U21's qualified for the inaugural, 2014–15 edition, of the Premier League International Cup, being drawn in Group C with Manchester City, Benfica and Schalke 04. On 24 November 2014, Leicester City U21's became the first team to qualify for the quarter finals, after defeating Schalke 04 and Benfica, both 2-0 at the King Power Stadium.
Current squad
As of 13 September 2016Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Notable graduates
Current Leicester City players in bold.