Express & Star

Academy talent is ‘vital’ to Walsall

Walsall assistant manager Brian Dutton believes the club’s blossoming academy products are ‘vitally important’ to the Saddlers.

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Sam Perry, Joe Willis and Joe Foulkes have all had varying degrees of first-team involvement this season – while 18-year-old midfielder Alfie Bates has enjoyed his breakout campaign as he’s become a regular on the team sheet. And Dutton, who also works with the development squad, insists the young talents are essential to the club.

“I think its vitally important for the football club,” he said.

“We haven’t got the biggest budget in the league and we’ve got to try and think outside the box so if you’ve got an academy that’s going to bear its fruit with young players then you’re going to be all the more healthier for it.

“For those lads dipping their toes in and getting a taste for it, hopefully they can kick on from there and it will be a good example for the rest of the boys in the under-18s. They’re very good – they wouldn’t be in and around the first team if we didn’t rate them.

“They’re still developing so it’s up to them where they go from here. They can rest on their laurels and think they’ve almost made it and all of a sudden they’ll fall by the wayside or they can dip their toe and think ‘Yes I quite like this, I’m going to crack on with this’, and that’s what we want from them.

“We don’t want them to get here and be arrogant with it, we want them to get here and realise that they are good enough and that they can make the step.”

Meanwhile, Dutton is also adamant that the transfer window must be used to bring in the right type of players that can improve the Saddlers squad.

“The gaffer was going to be active over the transfer window if the right players become available,” he added.

“What we’re not going to do is bring bad recruitment into the club, it’s important that as part of the rebuilding structure at this football club and taking them forward in the next couple of years.

“It’s important we don’t bring bad players into the football club.

“If the right player is there, we’ll definitely be looking to bring him but we won’t be rushing or doing it out of necessity, it’s got to be right for the football club.”