Aston Villa’s Academy enjoyed a momentous 2024/25 season, winning trophies, competing against top European sides, beating Football League clubs and seeing several players make their senior debuts in claret and blue.
The Under-18s stole the headlines with a treble-winning campaign, but there have been several success stories as the club continued to build on its reputation as one of the leading academies in the country.
Academy Manager Mark Harrison, who joined the club in 2019, reflected positively on another season of growth for players and staff.
“Looking from the perspective of the results, everyone would highlight how well the Under-18 team have done and without doubt that’s been fantastic,” he said.
“We were told the other day that only one other academy has ever achieved that feat, so we shouldn’t underestimate what the players, staff and everybody involved in the Academy has achieved.
“I also look at the whole season and I think that if we’re not careful we’ll forget some of the other notable achievements. The UEFA Youth League, it was the first time we’d entered that competition and to get to the stage we did in that.
“The EFL Trophy, you look at the penalty shootouts at Bolton and Blackpool, and we had an incredibly young team at Bolton, who gained the extra point, so that was fantastic.
“Sometimes I think I drive the staff up the wall because I say, ‘Look, that’s brilliant but we should never lose sight of the objective and purpose of what we’re here to do,’ and that’s to develop players for our first team or if we can’t do that, for the professional game.
“The final thing is – and this has been really reflected by the Under-18s – we’re developing really good young people as well. The success has been based on that as much as the football element.”
Harrison was among the big crowds on two special days at Villa Park in May as the Under-18s overcame Manchester City on both occasions to capture the FA Youth Cup and win the Premier League National Final.
The latter followed up their title triumph in the Premier League South, capping off a tremendous campaign for Jimmy Shan’s squad. Sharing the success with thousands of Villans made it all the more sweeter.
Harrison said: “They were unbelievable occasions and highlighted how the club has restored itself to where it was – there had obviously been some difficult times before I joined that a lot of people had to deal with.
“What shouldn’t be overlooked is the work done by all the people at the football club, all the staff involved in it, to put those events on. The second game, the National Final, there had been a first team game on the evening before, so it was a great credit to everyone who helped us do that.
“To have 25,000 at one and 10,000 at the other, for the players’ developments, was fantastic for how they deal with those pressures and those occasions to prepare them for the next step in their journey.”
Winning the National Final also ensured the Young Lions will compete in the UEFA Youth League again next season, having made their debut in the tournament this term.
Villa reached the Round of 16 before being knocked out by Barcelona, and it was another hugely valuable experience.
“Having worked in youth football now for over 30 years in total and nearly 20 as an academy manager, that’s got to be the standout competition that I’ve been involved in,” Harrison said.
“The quality of the games, the challenges we faced technically, tactically and physically, and also preparation for those games, it added a lot of value in terms of development for our players.”
Back on the domestic front, the Vertu Trophy provided plenty of thrills as Villa progressed through their group, with Josep Gombau’s team the only under-21 side to reach the knockout stages.
A mammoth 18-17 penalty shootout victory against Blackpool followed before Bradford City ended the club’s best run in the competition in the Last 16.
Harrison said: “The significance of that was the amount of players we used and the age of those players. The team at Bolton (1-1 draw and 4-1 win on penalties), we were incredibly young that day. That was a real, real team highlight of the whole season.
“We had 16, 17-year-olds playing against seasoned professionals, and I don’t think people fully understand from the outside the differences our players face in that competition – the physical difference is huge.
“To win the penalty shootout was brilliant for those players, and then to go to Blackpool in it, and I think it was an English record, to experience that and win it. The only shame was that at that time of the season we didn’t get the opportunity when we did play Bradford at home to replicate what we did for the FA Youth Cup final.
“In some respects, that’s a senior competition that we’d gone further in than all the under-21 teams. When you think that some of those players have experienced all of those competitions, in terms of their development journeys, it will be fantastic for them and give them the base for their next step, whether that’s being around the first team in pre-season or going out on loan.”
The Academy’s ultimate aim is to progress players into the first team, and they were able to celebrate a number of senior debuts in 2024/25.
A particularly special night saw Kadan Young, Aidan Borland, Ben Broggio, Travis Patterson and Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba all make their first appearances for the club against Wycombe Wanderers in the Carabao Cup.
“Without a doubt, that was a fantastic evening. What people shouldn’t underestimate is the smiles is puts on people’s faces in the Academy,” Harrison reflected.
“Whatever competition it is and for however long it is, seeing players make their debuts and the way they handled it was really rewarding for a lot of people’s work behind the scenes.”
Staying at the forefront of youth football in an ever-evolving industry is the challenge faced by Harrison and the rest of the staff in the Academy.
And far from being satisfied with the achievements of this season, he is determined to keep pushing forward in both the short and long term.
“I’m always proud of what young people achieve and what the staff achieve, but unfortunately I’m one of those people who is never satisfied and in a relentless pursuit of getting to a point where we have a number of players in our first team squad, X amount of players in the Premier League, X amount of players in the Championship,” Harrison said.
“Equal to that, I was at a Premier League national conference awards evening and there was a young man there named Jake Walker, who was a young pro when I arrived here. A couple of years later he was released from his contract and played some semi-professional football before deciding to follow a different career path in the Navy.
“He received an award from the Premier League for what he’d achieved outside of football. I’m as proud of when young men achieve things outside of football, especially with the work we’re doing now – we’re doing more work in the community.
“Ultimately, we get measured on the success of the Academy, but that has to be driven by the development of the individual and not the trophies. That’s great recognition for the work but we have to make sure we maintain that player development and give as many players an opportunity in the professional game as we can.”