Louie Lefevre looks how Wolves’ U21 squad fared in 2024/25
Another season has come to a close for Wolves’ academy sides, with the U21 side finishing 14th, securing progression to the knockout phase but not pulling any surprises.
The side featured plenty of U18 players stepping up, and was bolstered by new signings Ethan Sutherland, Arthur Nasta and Bastien Meupiyou. Wolves’ PL2 campaign began with a 2-0 loss away to Nottingham Forest at Loughborough University and would pick up their first point of the season away to Brighton three games later.
The U21s picked up their first PL2 win of the season in emphatic style after that, smashing Leeds 4-1 at Aggborough. Their richest vein of form came in December and January, winning three matches in a row including a 4-0 victory over Aston Villa, a narrow win over Crystal Palace and even a 3-1 shock result over eventual champions Manchester City. The run was ended abruptly with a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Sunderland.
February saw Wolves share the points with rivals West Brom in the U21 Black Country derby, Tom Edozie scoring Wolves’ only goal of that game. Edozie was also the player who secured Wolves’ progression through to the knockout stages on the last game of the regular season, slamming home a free kick that would secure a point at home to Manchester United. Wolves were eliminated in the round of 16 by Chelsea, losing 4-0 away from home.
A 14th place finish will also not be enough for PL International Cup football next season, though some teams above Wolves may turn down participation leaving the door open for James Collins’ side.
Meanwhile, Wolves also had a Premier League Cup campaign to forget, exiting in the group stage. They began strongly, dismantling category 3 academy Huddersfield Town 4-0 at Telford United’s SEAH Stadium but suffered a surprising loss to category 2 side Sheffield United in the following match. A loss to fellow PL2 side Sunderland followed before another win over Huddersfield, albeit much narrower than the home fixture. A second loss to group winners Sheffield United all but confirmed Wolves’ exit, despite a point at home to Sunderland in the final group game.
Wolves fared even worse in the PL International Cup, picking up only two points and finishing bottom of group C. One of those points came in the opening match with AS Monaco as Saheed Olagunju scored on his U21 debut in a 1-1 draw. A thrilling 3-3 draw with Dinamo Zagreb II was to be the last point Wolves secured in this year’s edition of the competition, with losses Ajax and Valencia in December dooming the young Wolves side to 8th place.
It was more of the same in this season’s EFL Trophy campaign, as Wolves finished bottom with one point to their name. That also came in the first game of the competition, dragging Port Vale to a penalty shootout but suffering heartbreak from the spot. Wolves then lost 3-0 to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s Wrexham before also losing their final game to Salford City 3-2.
This year, the U21s exposure to first team opposition was not just in the EFL Trophy, with the remodelled National League Cup also offering the chance to play senior opposition. This competition provided one of Wolves’ brighter parts of the season and though they did not progress through the group stage, they did grab some impressive results against respectable non-league opponents. Their first game ended in a 2-2 draw with former Premier League outfit Oldham Athletic, winning the additional point on penalties afterwards. One of the Wolves U21s best performances of the season came in a 2-0 win over Forest Green Rovers in their second fixture of the tournament. Wolves were reduced to 10 early on against Altrincham, resulting in a disappointing defeat, but would claim a bonus penalty shootout point in the next game with Rochdale. Despite only losing once in the group stage, Wolves’ 4th place finish was not enough to secure progression to the knockout stages.
Standout Performances
The season saw some breakout stars at this age group, particularly in goal. Lewys Benjamin had a fantastic first half of the season between the sticks and Josh Gracey was just as good when called upon due to Benjamin’s loan exit.
Wolves also have plenty of reason to be excited about the next crop of strikers with Dani Angel having a great campaign leading the line whilst Fletcher Holman impressed both for the U21s and Solihull Moors on loan.
Mateus Mane also began to slowly break into the U21 set-up with a handful of appearances this season. He’ll hope for a bigger role next time around.
New signings Bastien Meupiyou and Ethan Sutherland also look like savvy business, with Meupiyou surely hoping for some senior football soon.
Overall, James Collins will want a big pre-season before a much improved performance from 2024/25.
ARTICLE BY LOUIE LEFEVRE
I’m a student and a season ticket holder. I enjoy talking about the next generation of Wolves players and you can usually spot me on Match of the day behind the goal!