Having endured a frustrating first season as a scholar during which he had to be very patient for opportunities to impress, this campaign Bayli Spencer-Adams has established himself as a regular for Arsenal U18s.
The centre-back, a product of the Gunners’ Hale End academy, has featured frequently alongside Mark McGuinness at the heart of the defence and, in a rather rare occurrence, scored a brace in the 4-0 victory over Fulham in the Premier League Cup yesterday.
This is a very important year for Spencer-Adams as far as his Arsenal future is concerned, with the youngster set to discover by the end of the campaign whether or not the club will offer him a professional contract for next season.
Spencer-Adams is doing his utmost to try and extend his stay at the club and is playing with greater authority at the back than he did during his fleeting appearances last season, but he still has some improvements to make.
The 17-year-old can still get beaten too easily on some occasions, but he is strong physically and also possesses impressive leadership qualities.
While Spencer-Adams and McGuinness may have struck up a partnership for the U18s, there is a possibility that only one of the centre-backs may be retained and, at present, it seems that McGuinness possesses a better chance of succeeding at a higher level.
Spencer-Adams certainly can’t be discounted, however, and he will seek to follow in the footsteps of Zech Medley and Danny Ballard, who initially had some difficult moments for the U18s but are now an important part of the U23 setup.
Arsenal get their FA Youth Cup campaign underway next month with a home game against either Northampton Town or Swindon Town in the third round. That competition will provide Spencer-Adams with another opportunity to impress as he strives to earn a new deal.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
Thanks Jeorge, always enjoying reading about our academy players.
Good luck to him