Meet TeamFFD's New Gen ballers

Dan Gayle sure has a knack for unearthing some of the country’s biggest ballers.

Jadon Sancho, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Tammy Abraham, you name them, are all proud members of TeamFFD, a footballing insitution established eight years ago in the parks and pitches of the ‘concrete Catalonia’.

The name of the game? No rules. No mercy. Go out and express yourselves. Oh, and don’t be getting megged or expect to go viral. YouTube comment sections aren't always the kindest.

And express themselves they did, on a grander scale, a much bigger stage. Seeing your Sancho’s and Hudson Odoi’s excel in the most prestigious of European competitions must be an eternal source of pride and joy for founder Gayle, who is now set on developing the next cohort of young wonderkids across the country.

I take a look at a number of TeamFFD’S New Gen academy players, earmarked for big things in the coming years.

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Omari Hutchinson

You’ve probably heard of the name Omari Hutchinson in your time. It might have been that F2 skill compilation a few years back. Or you may just happen to be one of his 53.2k followers on Instagram. And whilst that number is no indication of the success that Omari has had or will have, it sure does go some way to explain the buzz around the player. Hale End’s finest has got that something about him.

No longer confined to a role at left back, Omari does his creating further up the pitch, now an attacking midfielder that enjoys cutting in off the right and supplying those ahead of him. The young Arsenal baller is an architect, with an impressive eye for a pass; a return of four assists in his first three England u17 caps in February certainly speaks volumes.

What he lacks in height, he more than makes up for in a pair of quick feet and close ball control. Talking of feet, that leftie is dangerous. Make no mistake, the man is adept at using both. Try stopping Omari in full flow as he weaves his way past a number of helpless opposition players and unleashes. You’d do well to stop a trademark longshot of his.

Yes, there is still work to do. At 16 years of age, the journey is only really beginning for Omari. But pressure and expectation is something he has had to deal with his whole life.

Keep an eye out for Omari Hutchinson.

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Omari Forson

2019 was a good year for Omari Forson. After making the switch up north into Manchester last January, the ex-West Ham and Tottenham starboy has kicked on significantly; an FA youth cup debut for the 15-year-old is a measure of his talent, not to forget a handful of appearances made in the u18 PL this season.

The attacking midfielder, regularly positioned down the right hand side by u18s manager Neil Ryan, is an accomplished dribbler, a dancer you could say, with a balance and poise that the most cultured of playmakers would be proud of. Omari also knows where the goal is. It’s not just a first name that Mr Forson shares with the aformentioned Arsenal baller.

Despite playing two years up, Omari has already shown enough to suggest that he can hold the pitch with his elders. Next season will offer up a new sort of challenge, as Omari seeks to establish himself as a key member of an u18 side, be it in Manchester or wherever he so pleases. He has his suitors, as his performances have warranted. One thing for sure however is that academy coaches down at Carrington will be desperate to tie down one of England’s most promising prospects to a professional contract in the near future.

United, as it stands, have a player.

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Darko Gyabi and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens

£300,000, potentially rising to £1m? Quite the fee for a 14 year old. The going rate, I presume, that only the most talented, the biggest of young ballers across the land can command. Schoolboy’s don’t get called ‘exceptional players’ by first team managers if they aren’t anything but. Neil Harris, already resigned to losing one of his brightest talents, spoke extremely encouragingly about a player he had only seen ‘only a couple of times’ for the u16s. In November 2018, Man City fought off stern competition in rivals Arsenal to prize midfielder Darko Gyabi from Milwall.

It would be fair to say that their efforts have been justified so far. Darko is a box to box midfielder, a confident ball carrier capable of breaking the lines due to his crazy passing range and dribbling abilities. The man from Catford, South London has impressed in two age groups this season, a highlight being a late leveller for the u18s away to Newcastle, and he has since gone on to captain the England u16s on multiple occasions.

It also doesn’t take me too long to find out what all the fuss is about when it comes to Young Lion Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. The tricky Man City baller is as direct as they come, an imperious winger that isn’t afraid to sell a man down the line and twist up opposition defenders with a step over or two, before shifting it onto his right. His footwork is a joke.

As is his composure, perhaps best personified by that finish against Liverpool in what were his first minutes of the u18 season last September. Jamie, a willing runner, is found by a Liam Delap through ball in behind. With work still to do, the winger, bearing down on goal, sends Jakub Ojrzynski with the eyes and the rest is history.

For an academy graduate to make history in the first team however is a different matter. City are notoriously aggressive in recruitment at youth level, so the fact that a Jadon Sancho, arguably England’s most talented player of his generation, failed to establish himself in the first team is an indictment of a successful, albeit dangerous club culture obsessed with winning at any cost. That being £700m over four seasons in transfer fees, whilst largely ignoring any success down the road at the City Football Academy.

Perhaps the transfer ban can be that catalyst for change. Should the pathway at any stage open up for City’s next batch of young ballers, let’s hope Darko and Jamie stand up to be counted. For the time being however, the pair have a season of more permanent u18 football to look forward to and work towards. Their talent is evident. So don’t be surprised to see them shining next year.