Get to know Palace’s Academy stars who’ve represented the first-team

Academy

17 Nov 2022

Crystal Palace’s Under-21s and Under-18s have been in exceptional form so far this season, battling at the top of their respective leagues, and as a result a number of players have stepped up to the first-team in the past few months.

Last season, we saw two debutants don the famous red and blue for the first-team: Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and Tayo Adaramola. This season we’ve seen Kaden Rodney and Killian Phillips feature on the pitch with the first-team, with a number of others making the step up on the bench and in training.

Watch Academy stars on Palace TV+

Rodney, who has been at the club since the age of eight, has consistently played above his age group. He made a mark for himself aged 16, scoring a 30-yard screamer against rivals Brighton & Hove Albion in 2020/21, and has since featured consistently for the Under-18s last season and the Under-21s this season.

He made his debut at the Kassam Stadium in the 0-2 victory over Oxford United, keeping a clean sheet despite playing in a slightly unfamiliar role as left-back. Rodney has since trained with the first-team on a regular basis and featured on the bench against Brentford, Manchester City and Newcastle United.

Phillips also made his debut in the game against Oxford United. He was signed from Drogheda United last season and has since gone from strength to strength, earning his stripes at Under-21s level before making the step up to the first-team. Much like Rodney, he has been across the road at Copers Cope to train with the first-team and has also featured on the bench against Brentford, Everton and Newcastle United since his debut.

Match highlights: Oxford United v Crystal Palace | Carabao Cup Round 2

Manager Patrick Vieira was pleased with how Rodney and Phillips performed against Oxford, saying: “I’m really pleased and think Kaden and Killian did really well.

“Kaden is normally a right-back and today played as a left-back. It’s not his best position but he was really composed, went forward at times and I think tactically he was really good. He is really young, but showed something really interesting for us.

“They did it really well and that will bring more competition and make it more difficult for me to choose the starting XI. That’s what we want – everybody feels really concerned [invested] in what we want to do.”

The likes of John-Kymani Gordon, Kofi Balmer, David Ozoh, Joe Whitworth, Owen Goodman, Jack Wells-Morrison and Adler Nascimento among others have all been in and around the first-team too, featuring on the bench in a number of games and training with them on occasion.

With the World Cup now putting a pause to Premier League proceedings, you can watch all of Palace’s young Academy stars showcase their talents in eight fixtures which will be broadcast LIVE on Palace TV+ in the coming weeks. Click here for more information.

Academy
First-team
Under-18s
Under-21s
Killian Phillips
Kaden Rodney
John-Kymani Gordon
Adler Nascimento
Joe Whitworth
Owen Goodman

Related News

More News