Two Walsall academy midfielders close to first team chance
Two Walsall academy products are on the verge of forcing their way into the first team, Darrell Clarke has revealed.
The manager has identified midfielders Sam Perry, aged 17, and 18-year-old Joe Willis as two youth players close to a first team chance.
Willis was on the bench for Walsall’s loss to Oldham in October, while Perry has yet to feature.
They join 18-year-old Alfie Bates who has had an impressive season so far as Clarke says the midfielder is still pushing for minutes in the team.
“I think you’ll always find with youngsters that they’ll dip and out of the team,” he said.
“I think Alfie started really, really well and then had a couple of dips.
“Which is fine, it’s not a problem with young lads.
“Senior players do it as well by the way.
“Danny Guthrie has come back and managed to get a few more minutes, he’s obviously a bit more experienced.
“But Alfie is pushing all along the way.
“I’ve got Sam Perry and Joe Willis that are training with me at the minute.
“Good sized lads, doing well in the youth team and I can’t see their chance being far away as well.
“We want players pushing and looking at these young boys to see if they can get into the team and move it forward.
“To be successful at Walsall you have to do it that way.
“When you’re not spending the top dollars you have to go and produce players.
“There’s many times this season when we’ve had four, five, six home-grown players coming into the team.
“That’s what we’re trying to get back to.”
Meanwhile, Clarke refused to rule out the possibility of selling some of the club’s young talents.
Bates has been joined by 20-year-old left-back Callum Cockerill-Mollett in putting in impressive displays this season and Clarke insists that every player is ‘sell-able.’
“That’s at any football club in the world unless you’re the big guns,” he added.
“Everybody is sell-able, certainly at Walsall.
“And anywhere to be honest, that’s no dig, everybody has a price on their head.
“For me, every time they put on the Walsall shirt they show the passion, desire and commitment to help us try and get three points.
“In the first half the season the lads have more or less done that.”
