How to Build a Footballer: Inside Exeter City’s Remarkable Academy

Ollie Watkins. Ethan Ampadu. Matt Grimes. How does Exeter City keep producing players who reach the top?

From the “must-haves” Exeter demand of every youngster to their ambition to develop a Champions League winner, this is a guide to youth development for fans of every club.

Why isn’t the best under-18 player always the best prospect? When should clubs be patient and when must they let a player go? What can non-league football teach that academy matches can’t? And is joining a Premier League club always the right move?

Ali Maxwell speaks to Exeter City Academy Director Arran Pugh to explore what goes into developing a professional footballer.

This episode is one of a two-part series highlighting the EFL’s Raised in the EFL campaign, celebrating the academies, people and opportunities that shape football’s next generation, on and off the pitch.

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