Blackpool chief wants to utilise academy options after arrival from Sheffield Wednesday

Blackpool’s new Sporting Director David Downes is keen to develop some of the club’s younger players. The former Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday man wants to create a clear pathway into the first-team for academy stars down the line.

The Seasiders are back in League One and are aiming for an immediate return to the Championship next season under Neil Critchley. They have so far delved into the transfer market to land Ollie Norburn, Matthew Pennington, Richard O’Donnell and Albie Morgan.

However, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see some Blackpool youngsters get their chance with the senior team next term with the club keeping one eye on the future as well. Downes has said: “The academy is my background and something I believe in quite passionately. Young players need the opportunity and clubs can always relate to one of their own.

“Sometimes the pathway is very different, it might be going out on loan or popping up at a later date as a late developer, but what we’ve got to focus on is creating a pathway for players into our system and making sure the first team staff are aware of what is in our system.“

He added: “If we need a left back, the first port of call is internal, we can try and fill that position rather than trying to out-source all the time. That’s what we’ve got to strive for.

“I’m really looking forward to it, everybody’s been really good to me since I came in. Credit to them because it doesn’t have the feel of a relegated club, there’s a lot of positivity.”

The likes of Bright Osayi-Samuel, Tom Barkhuizen, Ashley Eastham and Dom Telford have graduted from Blackpool’s academy over the past decade or so. The Tangerines played their first pre-season friendly of the summer last Friday against Southport and gave minutes to prospects like Jack Moore and Brad Holmes, with the latter managing to get on the scoresheet.

Critchley’s men won 3-0 with Kenny Dougall and Matty Virtue getting the other goals. The squad now fly over to Ireland for training in Cork.