Over the summer, the club have recruited a number of exciting young players as part of our Emerging Talents programme.
Consisting of players between the ages of 16-20, the Emerging Talents programme acts as the bridge between the academy and the first-team, providing the best individual progression plans to allow players to develop into contenders for the first team.
The programme is headed up by our Head of Emerging Talents, Joe Monks, whose appointment was confirmed earlier this month.
Five players have so far been given contracts with the club over Summer as part of the programme, some of which have featured in our pre-season outings. See below for more details:
Nic Bollado:
Striker Nic Bollado joined the club this Summer from Carlisle United, having come through the academy during his time at Brunton Park. After impressing in pre-season, the 18-year-old made his first-team debut for the Cumbrians last September, coming off the bench in a Papa John’s Trophy tie against Fleetwood, and went on to make four appearances for Paul Simpson’s side – including making his EFL debut against Newport County.
Taylor McMahon:
18-year-old Taylor McMahon has made the move to Edgeley Park from Championship side Stoke City. The left-sided centre-half is Manchester-born, and worked closely with former County centre-half and Stoke Academy Director Gareth Owen during his time at the Bet 365 Stadium. Taylor recently came off the bench in our final two pre-season outings, against Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End at Edgeley Park.
Ackeme Francis-Burrell:
Talented midfielder Ackeme Francis-Burrell has joined County from Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers. Just 18 years old, the youngster made 34 appearances in the Under 18s Premier League last season, as well as representing the club at U23s level. Ackeme travelled with the first-team on their trip to Pinatar, and was on the bench for our games against Lincoln City and Altrincham.
Sam Bird:
Former Fleetwood Town defender, Sam Bird is another who has completed a move to Edgeley Park this Summer. Having been an ever-present for the club’s U18s side, Sam signed his first pro-deal with Fleetwood in April 2021 before spending time on loan at Farsley Celtic and Hyde United. He made his first-team debut for the Cod Army in the Papa John’s Trophy, before spending time on trial at County last season – representing us in some of the B-team games played at Edgeley Park.
Josh Popoola:
Bournemouth right-wing-back Josh Popoola caught the eye at the end of last season during a short loan spell at Cheshunt, scoring twice in six appearances for the National League South side from the right-hand-side. The 19-year-old initially came through the academy at Watford before gaining experience at Hitchin Town, leading to a move to Bournemouth in 2021. After two years on the south-coast, he has now completed a move to County – starting our final pre-season game of the season against Preston North End.
Head of Emerging Talent, Joe Monks said:
“These young men are all players who we have identified after a thorough recruitment process held this summer. We have identified players we believe have the potential to play for our first team in the future.
“Each of their pathways to the first team now will be unique, but they have an opportunity with us to develop their ability and hopefully in the coming years push themselves into the manager’s plans. All of them have a good grounding, having previously played in Academy football, and some have already gained experience in men’s football which we feel is vital for their development”
“We will now work with each of them to ensure they have the right development plan for them to get to the first team squad. We look forward to working with them this coming season.”
