Alumni

Joleon Lescott believes his upbringing with the Wolves Academy helped mould him into a character ready to win the Premier League and represent England at a major tournament.

The defender is one of Wolves’ proudest products, climbing through the youth system to make his debut in gold and black as a teenager in August 2000.

After playing Premier League football at Molineux, the defender moved to Everton and played for England, before moving on to Manchester City, where he was an integral part in their 2012 Premier League-winning side.

“The standard (at the Wolves Academy) was very good, some players were frustrated they weren’t playing and some were fighting to get into the team. I was playing in that team from an early age and it gave me early exposure of playing against professionals who’d played hundreds of league games.”

The most expensive teenager in the world when he moved from Wolves in 1999, Robbie Keane still has fond memories of his upbringing at the club.

After joining Wolves Academy as a 15-year-old, the goal scorer went on to find the back of the net more than 300 times for a dozen clubs throughout his career, including scoring 68 goals in 146 appearances for the Republic of Ireland national team.

Announcing his retirement in November after a 21-year playing career, Keane has now joined the former Wolves managerial team of Mick McCarthy and Terry Connor in heading Ireland’s attempts at reaching Euro 2020.

“I came to Wolves with the ambition of playing for the first team. That was always my goal. I was fortunate that I was at a club who believed in me and gave me the opportunity to develop as a player.”

Morgan Gibbs-White is a proud Wolves Academy product and has been a regular in and around the first-team under Nuno Espirito Santo.

The midfielder has been with the club for more than 11 years, making his way through the age groups to make his debut aged just 16.

That debut arrived in a 2-0 FA Cup win over Stoke City in January 2017 and he’s continued to knock on the door of the first-team since, making over 50 appearances for the club in the Championship, Premier League and Europa League.

At international level, Gibbs-White and his England teammates were famously triumphant in the 2017 under-17 World Cup in India, and he’s since earned honours at under-21 level.

Wolves Academy graduate Peter Smith is currently plying his trade with Swedish club Ytterhogdals IK.

The 22-year-old left Wolves at the end of the 2013-14 season and enjoyed a college scholarship in America, before time in Spain and a move to Sweden, but he holds memories of his time at his boyhood team dearly.

“My favourite memories at Wolves, were training alongside some brilliant first-team players, like Steven Fletcher and Kevin Doyle, under the management of Mick McCarthy every day. I learned a lot from them whilst playing for the Academy.”

“I moved to Tyler Junior College in Texas, America, on a soccer scholarship. During my time there, I was voted as the best left-back in the country in my age group and we won a national tournament.”