Crystal Palace U18s 24/25 Season Review

Academy

6 Jun 2025

Palace’s young Eagles have gained valuable experience, played out vital fixtures and, most importantly, developed as footballers. Find out how our Under-18s got on in their 24/25 Season Review below!

The campaign for the Under-18s this season concluded with an end-to-end 3-3 draw with rivals Brighton & Hove Albion earlier in May, confirming a sixth place finish for the young Eagles.

They were one point behind London rivals Fulham and one ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, though league position doesn’t tell the entire story of the campaign. A crop of 13 talented scholars joined the ranks and all contributed with second-years and first-year professionals towards an incredible season of ups and downs.

“From when I’ve come in January to look after the U18s, I can't praise them enough.” said Dave Cooper, current head coach of the U18s side.

“I've coached them at Under-13s, 14s and through the age groups, I know exactly what's in that dressing room - and they never give up.

“They're technically really good, they've got a great spirit, they've got a great togetherness and character.”

Indeed, the side has displayed this throughout the campaign on multiple occasions, recording results such as a 4-2 comeback victory from 0-2 down against Chelsea and a 5-0 thumping of West Ham United away from home.

“We've had a good half of the year. We fell short in the league, but we’ve had good performances and we’re trying to develop these young players. We've had players playing in the 21s.”

“Our goal is to eventually make these younger players first-team players and to see them playing up is great. George King has stepped up to the Under-21s, as has Seb Williams, Mofe Jemide has been up there all season too.

“With that comes some Under-16s stepping up to be with us in the U18s, such as Joel Drakes-Thomas, Jacob Fasida and Donte Martin, they’ve played with us for the second half of the season.

“And that's got to be the goal for the club: producing young professionals. That's what we’re all trying to do, and they've been outstanding in that regard.”

Following the conclusion of the U18 Premier League season, the side also went to Morocco shortly afterwards to compete in the Mohammed VI Football Academy (AMF) Tournament which saw 12 teams from all around the world compete for a trophy.

Palace overcame Udinese and AMF in the group stage and then managed victories against Aspire Academy (Qatar) and PSG in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively.

They fell agonisingly short in the final, losing out to a very strong River Plate side. “That was an amazing tournament, considering the weather.

“We went there with a couple of players that could only play a certain amount of minutes. We took two Under-15s in an Under-19s tournament, which again shows the progress within the Academy with players coming through.

“We played PSG in the semi-final after being 1-0 down, we displayed great character once again to comeback and win 2-1.

“This is what the side are capable of, and for us to finish second in a massive tournament like that is credit to the players because they were outstanding.”

“These things can only breed better players. So the more we can do it, with people training up with 21s, even the first-team, and up with us from the younger age groups it's invaluable.”

Key Stats

U18 Premier League South: 6th place (10W, 8D, 6L)
U18 Premier League Cup: Group stage
FA Youth Cup: Third Round
Games played (All competitions): 28
Goals scored (All competitions): 55
Top scorer (All competitions): Benji Casey & Jesse Derry - 12 goals
Top assists (All competitions): Freddie Cowin - 5 assists

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