Crystal Palace F.C. Under-21s and Academy

The Crystal Palace F.C. Under-21s is the Under-21 Development team of Crystal Palace Football Club. They play in Premier League 2, the top level of reserve football in England and also compete in the Premier League Cup, Premier League International Cup and EFL Trophy.

Crystal Palace Under-21s and Academy
Full nameCrystal Palace Football Club Under-21s and Academy
NicknameThe Eagles
GroundCrystal Palace Training Ground (Beckenham)
Selhurst Park
Capacity1,000 (Training Ground)
25,486 (Selhurst Park)
Owner(s)Steve Parish
Joshua Harris
David Blitzer
Woody Johnson
ChairmanSteve Parish
ManagerDarren Powell (U21)
Javier Alonso (U18)
LeaguePremier League 2 (under-21s)
U18 Premier League (academy)

The Crystal Palace F.C. Academy consists of the Under-18s and also lower-age group youth teams of Crystal Palace Football Club. The Under-18 team compete in the U18 Premier League, U18 Premier League Cup and FA Youth Cup. The academy has produced a number of well known international players over the years such as Johnny Byrne, Kenny Sansom,[1] Peter Nicholas, Gareth Southgate and Wilfried Zaha.

The academy was significantly upgraded in 2020 to achieve Category One status, the highest classification in English football,[2] and was officially opened in 2021, by former Palace academy graduate Gareth Southgate.[2]

U21 Development squad

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As of 5 June 2026[3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
41 GK  ENG Harry Lee
45 MF  SCO Dylan Reid
47 FW  POR Adler Nascimento
48 DF  ENG Mofe Jemide
50 MF  IRL Joseph Gibbard
53 GK  ENG Jackson Izquierdo
58 MF  ENG Sebastian Williams
60 DF  IRL George King
61 FW  AUS Rylan Brownlie
No. Pos. Nation Player
62 DF  USA Tyler Whyte
63 FW  ENG Zach Marsh
64 FW  ENG Asher Agbinone
66 MF  TRI Kai-Reece Adams-Collman
68 MF  ALB Matteo Dashi
72 DF  ENG Dean Benamar
73 FW  ENG Benjamin Casey
86 FW  ENG Joél Drakes-Thomas
FW  ENG David Obou
FW  ENG Jemiah Umolu

Out on loan

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The loans listed here are only for under-21 squad players who have not yet made a competitive appearance for the first team or been called into the first team squad for a competitive fixture.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
54 DF  IRL Jake Grante (at Totton until end of 2025–26 season)
65 FW  ENG Zack Henry (at Hassocks until end of 2025–26 season)
70 GK  ENG Marcus Hill (at Raynes Park Vale until end of 2025–26 season)
DF  CIV Abdul Ouedraogo (at Beveren until end of 2025–26 season)
MF  SLE Hindolo Mustapha (at West Brom until end of 2025–26 season)
No. Pos. Nation Player

U18 Academy squad

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As of 16 December 2025[4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
74 DF  ENG Sean Somade
76 MF  ENG Euan Danaher
78 DF  ENG Jacob Fasida
79 MF  ENG David Angibeaud
80 DF  ENG Joshua Muwana
81 MF  ENG Stuart Oduro
82 DF  ENG Jasper Judd
83 GK  ENG Jack Mason
84 GK  ENG Harry Whitworth
85 GK  ENG Thiago Speroni
87 MF  ENG Chuks Okoli
88 MF  ENG Donte Martin
No. Pos. Nation Player
89 FW  ENG Jayden McDonald
90 MF  ENG Ajean-Ray Greaves
91 MF  ENG Aiden Morgan
92 MF  ENG Daniel Owoade
93 FW  ENG Remi Ahazie-Shittu
94 FW  ENG Makai Bernard-Ferguson
95 MF  ENG Raihaan Anderson
GK  ENG Lucca Benetton
DF  ENG Dylan Monk
DF  ENG Khyan Frazer-Williams
FW  USA Kairo Smith-Phillips
FW  ENG Oladotun Lamidi

Honours

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Reserves/Development Squad

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Academy

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  • FA Youth Cup
    • Winners (2): 1976–77, 1977–78
    • Runners-up (2): 1991–92, 1996–97
  • U18 Premier League Cup
    • Winners (1): 2025–26
  • U18 Premier League – South Group
    • Runners-up (1): 2020–21
  • U15 National Floodlit Cup
    • Winners (2): 2018–19, 2022–23
    • Runners-up (1): 2021–22
  • U15 National Floodlit Shield
    • Runners-up (1): 2025–26
  • Southern Junior Floodlit Cup
    • Winners (1): 1996–97
    • Runners-up (1): 1976–77

Notable Academy graduates

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Development Player of the Year Award

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Year Winner
1983England Gary Stebbing
1984England Gary Stebbing
1985England David Lindsay
1986England Richard Shaw
1987England John Salako
1988England John Salako
1989England David Stevens
1990England Simon Osborn
1991England Dean Gordon
1992Scotland Mark Hawthorne
1993Nigeria George Ndah
1994Republic of Ireland Brian Launders
1995No award
1996No award
1997No award
 
Year Winner
1998No award
1999No award
2000No award
2001No award
2002England Julian Gray
2003England Wayne Routledge
2004England Wayne Routledge
2005England Tom Soares
2006England Ben Watson
2007England Gary Borrowdale
2008Republic of Ireland Sean Scannell
2009England Nathaniel Clyne
2010England Nathaniel Clyne
2011Ivory Coast Wilfried Zaha
2012Ivory Coast Wilfried Zaha
 
Year Winner
2013Wales Jonny Williams
2014England Joel Ward
2015Sierra Leone Sullay Kaikai
2016England Hiram Boateng
2017England Kevin Gonzalez
2018England Aaron Wan-Bissaka
2019Republic of Ireland Kian Flanagan
2020England Malachi Boateng
2021England Reece Hannam
2022England Jesurun Rak-Sakyi
2023England David Ozoh
2024England Joe Whitworth
2025Sierra Leone Hindolo Mustapha
2026Republic of Ireland George King

Note: This award was previously known as Young Player of the Year until 2015.

References

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  1. "Kenny Sansom: Crystal Palace". Holmesdale.net. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 "The Crystal Palace F.C. Academy". Crystal Palace F.C. Retrieved 18 April 2026.
  3. "Under-21s Team". Crystal Palace F.C. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  4. "Under-18s Team". Crystal Palace F.C. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2021.