Cheltenham Town’s youngest ever player has completed a six figure move to Premier League side Southampton recently, with professional development phase lead coach Pete Haynes seeing it as a testament to the fine work done by the academy staff.
Will Armitage, 16, joined Cheltenham at age 15 after some time in local grassroots football and on the back of unsuccessful trials with local clubs. Haynes saw something that other clubs had not and was keen to bring the centre back to the club. Haynes said:
“From a profile point of view, when he first came in as a fifteen year old he had a lot of outstanding attributes which really suited the way we would like our centre halves to play. Naturally there are always things to work on with players at that age, especially when coming out of mainly grassroots or development centre programs but we were very excited when he came into the program."
Haynes also praised Armitage’s effort and determination to make himself as good a player as possible, saying:
“How he took to the program is credit to him but also credit to the individual player development pathway that we have in terms of stretching individuals and he took every opportunity and challenge and moments of adversity in his stride and really thrived in them.
“I’m absolutely delighted for him, it’s an opportunity he’s worked really hard for. It’s something he’s been very driven towards in terms of trying to play at the highest level he possibly can and ultimately through his own hard work, endeavour, attitude and application he’s got that opportunity so it’s a fantastic move for him. We’re delighted for him and his family and it will be great to see the progress he makes over the next couple of years."
Armitage made unbelievable progress during his short time at the club, going from a player who was just ‘good enough’ to play for the U18s to someone who forced themselves into Michael Duff’s first team and eventually to the top flight of English football (slightly faster than the club’s manager did himself).
Haynes praised his development and explained:
“Did we necessarily expect the speed in which his development took place to happen? Probably not and I don’t think Will did either but to see his development happen so well in such a structured and supported is fantastic for him and also the academy as whole."
The deal is not just good for the player, but for the academy too. Not just on the financial side, the move provides a role model and aspiration for all players currently in the age groups at Cheltenham Town. Armitage serves as the gold standard for what players can achieve, as does George Lloyd who came through to win the League Two title.
Haynes continued:
“I think most importantly it’s great for all the younger players in the academy, they see there is, through hard work, through taking opportunities that are given to them, whether that’s in the first team or the 18s, that the potential of moving on to a category one academy program is possible and I think that aspiration is really key in youth development that players see that there is a pathway and there is progression in the same way that when players graduate from the academy to the first team here at Cheltenham.
“That ultimately gives players light at the end of the tunnel to push towards so I think this will give a lot of players a boost that all of the hard work and all of the times of trouble that come but also the success, there can be a progression off the back of it.
“I also think that it shows the work that all of the staff are doing and shows that our player development model is in a good place because players are getting an opportunity in the first team and also at higher category academy clubs and that’s testament to the work that been going on behind the scenes as well as on the pitch."
Armitage made his debut for Southampton’s U18s side last week, scoring within twenty minutes in a 5-0 win over Aston Villa.
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