Ipswich Town F.C. Under-23s and Academy

Ipswich Town Academy
Full nameIpswich Town Football Club Under-21s and Academy
Nickname(s)The Tractor Boys
GroundPlayford Road
Portman Road
Capacity1,000 (Playford Road)
30,056 (Portman Road)
OwnerGamechanger 20 Ltd.
ChairmanMark Ashton
ManagerJohn McGreal (U21s)
David Wright (U18s)
LeaguePremier League 2 (U21s)
Premier League (U18s)

Ipswich Town Football Club currently runs a category one academy[1]. The youth teams play their home games at the Ipswich Town Training Centre at Playford Road in Ipswich, Suffolk, while some U21s home games are played at Portman Road.[2]

Some of Ipswich's greatest ever players have come through the club's youth system since the 1960s, including Roger Osborne, Mick Mills, Kevin Beattie, Russell Osman, George Burley, John Wark, Terry Butcher and Jason Dozzell.[3] The academy was also very successful during the 1990s, producing a number of first-team players including Richard Wright, Titus Bramble, James Scowcroft and Kieron Dyer.[4] In more recent years, the academy has produced more young players going onto the main team including Connor Wickham, Jordan Rhodes, Luke Woolfenden, Flynn Downes, Cameron Humphreys and Andre Dozzell, who like his father Jason Dozzell, scored on his debut at the age of 16.[5][6]


Under-21s squad

As of 9 June 2025[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK  NZL Henry Gray
— GK  SCO Woody Williamson
— DF  IRL Daniel Babb
— DF  ENG Somto Boniface
— DF  LTU Jokubas Mazionis
— DF  ENG Corbin Mthunzi
— MF  ENG Fin Barbrook
— MF  ENG Ryan Carr
— MF  NGA Abube Onuchukwu
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  ENG Steven Turner
— FW  IRL Leon Ayinde
— FW  MSR Ashley Boatswain
— FW  ENG Gerrard Buabo
— FW  ENG Tudor Mendel-Idowu
— FW  NIR Rio Oundie-Morgan
— FW  ENG Tom Taylor
— FW  ENG Nico Valentine


Under-18s squad

As of 9 June 2025[8]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK  ENG William Fletcher
— DF  ENG Stevy Brouwers
— DF  ENG Leon Elliott
— DF  ENG Fraser Heard
— DF  ENG Josh Lewis
— DF  NIR Darragh McCann
— DF  ENG Lenny O'Sullivan
— DF  ENG Walker Shabazz-Edwards
— MF  ENG Charlie Compton
— MF  ENG Usisya Longwe
— MF  ENG Bobby Sains
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF  ENG Charlie Wood
— FW  IRL Afikunoluwa Adebayo
— FW  ENG Ashton Boswell
— FW  ENG Jackson Chukwu-Nsofor
— FW  NIR Sidney Eldred
— FW  ENG Nelson Eze
— FW  ENG James Mauge
— FW  CYP Shakil Nicolaou
— FW  MLT Josh Pitts
— FW  ENG William Unadike


Academy key staff

Position Name
Head of Coaching & Player Development Vacant
Under-21 Head Coach John McGreal
Under-18 Head Coach David Wright
Academy Manager Dmitri Halajko
Head of Academy Goalkeeping Carl Pentney
Head of Foundation Phase Simon Tricker
Head of Academy Recruitment Alex Kaufman
Academy Loans Manager Danny Searle
Head of Academy Performance Analysis Adam Cuthbert
Head of Academy Sports Medicine Jack Wilce
Head of Academy Sports Science Nathan Griffith
Lead Strength & Conditioning Coach Vacant

Notable academy players

The following is a list of players who have played in the Ipswich Town youth system and have gone on to make 3 or more senior appearances at Championship level or above or the top league of that country. Players who are currently playing for the club are highlighted in bold. Players who never made a senior appearance for the club are in italics.

Academy Player of the Year

Dale Roberts Academy Player of the Year
Year Name Ref
2001–02 Will Snowdon [9]
2002–03 Darren Bent [10]
2003–04 Dean Bowditch [11]
2004–05 Billy Clarke [12]
2005–06 Chris Casement [13]
2006–07 Tommy Smith [14]
2007–08 Jordan Rhodes [15]
2008–09 Connor Wickham [16]
2009–10 Tom Eastman [17]
2010–11 Josh Carson [18]
2011–12 Gunnar Thorsteinsson [19]
2012–13 Jack Marriott [20]
2013–14 Kyle Hammond [21]
2014–15 Teddy Bishop [22]
2015–16 Andre Dozzell [23]
2016–17 Tristan Nydam [24]
2017–18 Flynn Downes [25]
2018–19 Jack Lankester [26]
2019–20 Not awarded[nb 1] [27]
2020–21 Not awarded
2021–22 Cameron Humphreys [28]
2022–23 Edwin Agbaje [29]
2023–24 Fin Barbrook [30]
2024–25 Tom Taylor [31]

Youth honours

Reserves/Under-21s

League

Champions: 1972–73, 1975–76, 2006–07 (East Division), 2007–08 (East Division)
Champions: 2001–02
Champions: 2018–19, 2021–22

Academy

League

Champions: 2000–01

Cups

Winners: 1972–73, 1974–75, 2004–05
  • Professional Development League Cup
Winners: 2021–22[32]
Winners: 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 2006–07, 2009–10

Notes

  1. ^ No Young Player of the Year award was given due to the Coronavirus outbreak resulting in the early curtailment of the 2019–20 season, and the cancellation of the Supporters' Club annual event.

References

  1. ^ "ACADEMY AWARDED CATEGORY ONE STATUS". Ipswich Town Official Website. 11 July 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  2. ^ "Ipswich Town 6–2 Bolton". Ipswich Town Official Website. 9 March 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
  3. ^ "Our Academy - Ipswich Town FC Academy". Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  4. ^ Watson, Stuart (30 March 2015). "Ipswich Town academy director Bryan Klug on 'special' talent, Category One latest, competing with Norwich and being sacked by Roy Keane". East Anglian Daily Times. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  5. ^ Pearce, Steve (4 May 2016). "Andre and Ben fly the flag for Town Academy in U17 European Championship squad". Ipswich Town F.C. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Sheffield Wednesday 1–1 Ipswich Town". BBC Sport. 16 April 2016. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  7. ^ "Ipswich Town U21 Squad". Ipswich Town F.C. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Ipswich Town U18 Squad". Ipswich Town F.C. Archived from the original on 19 February 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Snowdon Wins Award". TWTD. 29 April 2002. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  10. ^ "I Want to Stay - Pablo". TWTD. 28 April 2003. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Westy Player of the Year". twtd.co.uk (Those Were The Days). 2 May 2004. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Davis Wins Players' Award". twtd.co.uk (Those Were The Days). 3 May 2005. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Casement Wins Youth Gong". TWTD. 23 April 2006. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  14. ^ "Legwinski Players' Player". TWTD. 1 May 2007. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  15. ^ "Walters Wins Players' Player Award". TWTD. 22 April 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  16. ^ "Richard Wright Wins Supporters Player of the Year". TWTD. 3 May 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  17. ^ "McAuley Player of the Year". TWTD. 2 May 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  18. ^ "Bullard Player of the Year". TWTD. 30 April 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  19. ^ "Cresswell Player of the Year". TWTD. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  20. ^ "Smith Named Player of the Year". TWTD. 27 April 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  21. ^ "Berra Player of the Year". TWTD. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  22. ^ "Murphy Players' Player of the Year". TWTD. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  23. ^ "Bialkowski Wins Player of the Year". TWTD. 9 April 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  24. ^ "Lawrence Wins Players' Player of the Year". TWTD. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  25. ^ Heath, Mark (2 May 2018). "Bialkowski a double winner at Town's end of season awards as Celina claims best goal". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  26. ^ "Chambo Named Player Of The Year". Ipswich Town. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  27. ^ "No Player of the Year Award for 2019/20". TWTD.co.uk.
  28. ^ "Supporters club player of the year awards". Ipswich Town. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  29. ^ "Agbaje Wins Award". TWTD. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  30. ^ "End of Season Awards". Ipswich Town. 13 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  31. ^ "End Of Season Dinner 2025". Ipswich Town. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  32. ^ "U18 Town 7 - 0 Coventry". Ipswich Town F.C. 27 April 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2022.

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