Preston North End Academy

Preston North End runs a category 3 academy based in Lancashire. They have an elite youth development program that nurtures young talent.

The Preston North End academy is renowned for its dedication to nurturing young talent, offering a supportive environment for footballers aiming to progress to the first team.

The Academy’s official X (formerly Twitter) account is @pnefcacademy.

Academy Competitions

Each season, the Academy competes across the standard slate of competitions for Category Three clubs:

• U17 Professional Development League Cup – an English youth football tournament for players aged 17 and under.
• U18 Youth Alliance League – an English youth football competition made up of two regional divisions, serving as the League Two tier within the U18 Professional Development League system.
• U18 Youth Alliance Cup – an EFL-organised youth tournament for Under-18 teams from League One and League Two clubs competing in the EFL Youth Alliance. It follows a format similar to the EFL Trophy, beginning with a regional group stage before progressing to a national knockout phase.
• U18 Professional Development League Cup – established for the 2021/22 season, featuring 32 teams divided into eight groups of four, with group winners advancing to the knockout stages.
• FA Youth Cup – the traditional nationwide knockout competition open to academy sides across English football.
• Lancashire FA Professional Youth Cup – a county knockout competition contested by Preston North End’s Under-18s alongside sides from across Lancashire.
• U21 Premier League Cup – introduced in the 2013/14 season to add a knockout tournament alongside the regular Professional Development Phase league schedule, featuring nine groups with the top team in each group plus the seven best runners-up advancing to the knockout stage.
• Central League Cup – a reserve-team competition in which entrants are divided into groups, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the quarter-finals.
• Lancashire FA Senior Cup – a county knockout competition contested by Preston North End’s Reserves alongside sides from across Lancashire.

2026/27 Season

The Academy enters the 2025/26 season under Academy Manager Nick Harrison, Lead Senior Professional Development Phase U21 coach Ryan Taylor, and U18/U19 Lead Professional Development Phase Academy Coach Anthony Kay.

Scholars 2026/27

1. William Pegrum (Goalkeeper)
2. Oliver Green (Defender)
3. Alex Hickey (Defender)
4. Aaron Garrigan (Defender/Midfielder)
5. Tom Noonan (Midfielder/Defender)
6. Will McCathie (Midfielder)
7. Kian Stanford (Attacking Midfielder)
8. Ethan Tempest (Forward/Winger)

Academy Players on Loan 2026/27

• Li-Bau Stowell (Goalkeeper) Chorley
• Kitt Nelson (Attacking Midfield) Linfield
• Max Wilson (Midfielder) Chorley

Academy Players in the First Team 2026/27

International Players 2026/27

• Shay Reid (Forward) Northern Ireland U19

2026/27 Tournament Groupings

In the U21 Premier League Cup, Preston North End Under-21s are drawn in E against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley and Fleetwood Town.

Season Timeline

July 2026

First Professional Contract

• Ed Nolan (Defender) 2 years + Option
• George Gryba (Forward) 2 years + Option
• Harry Stringfellow (Midfielder) 2 years + Option
• Troy Tarry (Left-Back) 2 years + Option
• Nathan Snowball (Left-Back) 2 years

August 2026

First Professional Contract

• Isaac Irwin (Defender)

2025/26 Season

The Academy enters the 2025/26 season under Academy Manager Nick Harrison, U18/U19 Lead Development Phase Coach Ryan Taylor, and Assistant U18/U19 Development Phase Coach Ryan McNally.

Full details of players retained, released, or returned from loan following the 2024/25 season can be found on the club’s official retained list.

Scholars 2025/26

Brandon Milne (Goalkeeper), Jonathan Swift (Goalkeeper), Charlie Whalley (Defender), Ethan Jackson (Defender), Harry Gerrard (Midfielder), Harvey Nickson (Midfielder)

Jamie Forshaw (Midfielder), George Gryba (Forward), Marshall Longson (Forward), Michael Ayodele (Forward), Shay Reid (Forward) and Olly Tonkin (Defender).

Academy Players on Loan 2025/26

• Kitt Nelson (Midfielder) – Cork City
• Kaedyn Kamara (Midfielder) – Cork City
• Li-Bau Stowell (Goalkeeper) – Warrington Town; Hyde United
• Somto Ifezue (Forward) – Bootle
• Max Wilson (Forward) – Chorley
• Felipe Gentile (Forward) – AFC Fylde
• Ed Nolan (Defender) – Lancaster City
• Jonny Brindle (Defender) – Lancaster City
• George Gryba (Forward) – Bamber Bridge
• Nathan Snowball (Defender) – Bamber Bridge

Academy Players in the First Team 2025/26

Michael Ayodele (Forward, #31).

International Players 2025/26

• Shay Reid (Forward) – Ireland U19

2025/26 Tournament Groupings

In the U17 Professional Development League Cup, Preston North End’s Under-17s were grouped with Under-17 sides from Doncaster Rovers, Wigan Athletic and Morecambe.

The Under-18s competed in the U18 Youth Alliance League North division and the U18 Youth Alliance Cup, drawn against Bradford City, Chesterfield and Carlisle United.

In the U18 Professional Development League Cup, the Under-18s were drawn in Group F against Grimsby Town, Barnsley and Hull City, with fixtures scheduled for 26 August, 4 October and 22 November 2025.

In the FA Youth Cup third round proper, the Under-18s were drawn at home against West Ham.

Also in the Lancashire FA Professional Youth Cup first round, the Under-18s were drawn at home against Wigan Athletic.

In the U21 Premier League Cup, Preston North End’s Under-21s were drawn in Group C against Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Charlton Athletic.

For the Central League Cup, Preston North End’s Reserves were drawn in Group C against Reserve sides from Blackpool and Blackburn Rovers.

In the Lancashire FA Senior Cup, the Reserves were drawn at home against Blackburn Rovers Under-21s.

Season Timeline

June 2025

• Harry Stringfellow, Jonny Brindle, Theo Carroll, Theo Mawene and Troy Tarry all had the one-year option in their contracts activated.
• Kacper Pasiek signed his first two-year professional contract with PNE.
• Promising 17-year-old Theo Mawene completed a permanent transfer from Preston North End to Brentford B.

August 2025

• PNE academy midfielder Theo Carroll signed his first professional contract with the club; the 18-year-old, who joined at a young age, committed to a three-year deal at Deepdale.
• Highly-rated striker Shay Reid joined Preston North End from Cliftonville, signing a two-year scholarship deal with the option of a one-year professional contract to follow.
• Defenders Nathan Snowball and Olly Tonkin have agreed professional terms with Preston North End after leaving Morecambe.
• Snowball, 17, will complete his second year as a scholar before signing a two-year professional contract.
• Tonkin, 16, joins on a two-year scholarship before taking up a one-year professional deal.

September 2025

• Academy coach Andy Fensome left the club to take up a new opportunity in the United States. Former Newcastle defender Ryan Taylor joined as U19 Lead Development Phase Coach, while John Welsh took charge of the Under-21s as Lead Senior Professional Development Phase Coach.
• Li-Bau Stowell signed his first professional contract with Preston North End; the 17-year-old goalkeeper committed to a three-year deal with the club.

November 2025

• Preston North End’s Under-18s’ FA Youth Cup run came to an end, following their tie at home to West Ham’s Under-18s.

January 2026

• John Welsh departed his position as Lead Senior Professional Development Phase Under-21 coach to take up a new role at Barrow as Assistant Head Coach under Paul Gallagher.

March 2026

• Jonny Brindle returned to North End following the end of his loan at Giant Axe.

2024/25 Season

Based in Lancashire, Preston North End ran a Category Three academy.

Scholars 2024/25

12 Academy prospects joined the Lilywhites for the 2024/25 season: Li-Bau Stowell (Goalkeeper), Joe Blake (Defender), Josh Muir (Defender), Maddox Banks (Defender)

Charlie Forwood (Defender), Ben Robinson (Defender), Ed Nolan (Midfielder), Isaac Lam (Midfielder), Muhammad-Raiyaan Haji (Midfielder), Clayton Lescott (Midfielder), Ben Fitton (Forward) and Somto Ifezue.

Academy Players on Loan 2024/25

• Tommy Davis (Goalkeeper) – Bamber Bridge FC; Ramsbottom United
• Kaedyn Kamara (Midfielder) – Workington AFC; Marine FC
• Noah Mawene (Midfielder) – Newport County
• Kian Best (Defender) – Bohemians
• Kitt Nelson (Midfielder) – Cork City
• Layton Stewart (Forward) – FC Thun
• Kian Taylor (Midfielder) – Altrincham
• Max Wilson (Defender) – Galway United
• Kacper Pasiek (Defender) – Altrincham
• Cole McGhee (Defender) – Chorley

Academy Graduates in the First Team 2024/25

Theo Mawene (Midfielder, #31), Kacper Pasiek (Defender, #32), Kian Best (Defender, #33), Troy Tarry (Defender, #38), Theo Carroll (Midfielder, #39), Li-Bau Stowell (Goalkeeper, #41).

2024/25 Tournament Groupings

In the U18 Youth Alliance Cup, Preston North End’s Under-18s were drawn in Group 1 against Under-18 sides from Blackpool, Bolton Wanderers, Carlisle United, Morecambe and Accrington Stanley.

In the U18 Professional Development League Cup, the Under-18s were drawn in Group D against Sheffield United, Burnley and Wigan.

For the U21 Premier League Cup, Preston North End were drawn in Group E against Blackburn Rovers, Colchester United and QPR.

In the Central League Cup, Preston North End’s Reserves were drawn in Group B against Wigan Athletic Reserves, Stockport Reserves and Stoke City Reserves, before progressing to the semi-finals against Mansfield Town Reserves.

Season Timeline

November 2024

• In the third round of the FA Youth Cup, Preston North End were drawn at home to Liverpool.
• The FA Youth Cup third round match between Preston North End and Liverpool was set to take place on Friday, 6th of December at Deepdale Stadium.

December 2024

• Preston North End’s Under-18s progressed to the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup, following their tie against Liverpool.
• Preston North End were set to face Manchester United in the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup.

January 2025

• The FA Youth Cup fifth round draw took place.
• Preston North End’s Under-18s were knocked out of the FA Youth Cup, following their tie away to Manchester United.

February 2025

• Michael Ayodele joined PNE on a scholarship from the JPL.
• Max Wilson signed his first professional contract with Preston North End.

April 2025

• Seventeen-year-old Theo Carroll made his Championship debut for Paul Heckingbottom’s Lilywhites, coming on for the final three minutes against Leeds United.
• Theo Carroll was named the PNE 2025 Scholar of the Year.

Released Academy Players (end of 2024/25)

Ayden Garrigan, Cole McGhee (joined Sheffield Wednesday), Dylan Gairns, Peter Critchley, Tommy Davis.