Highlights from the Crystal Palace Academy 2025–26 season showcasing progress along the EPPP development pathway for youth players.
Based in the South East London, Crystal Palace FC runs a category 1 academy
- Academy Director: Gary Issott
- Under-21 Head Coach: Darren Powell
- Under-18 Head Coach: Javier Alonso
- Higher Education Partner: University of Greenwich
Crystal Palace Retained List 2025
View the complete list of Crystal Palace players who have been retained, released, or have returned to their parent clubs following loan spells.
In addition a list of academy players retained or released can be found here.
Crystal Palace Scholars 2025/26
- Raihaan Anderson
- Makai Bernard-Ferguson
- Remi Ahazie-Shittu
- Joel Drakes-Thomas
- Jacob Fasida
- Ajean-Ray Greaves
- Oladotun Lamidi
- Donte Martin
- Jayden McDonald
- Aiden Morgan
- Daniel Owoade
- Thiago Speroni
Crystal Palace Academy Players On Loan 2025/26
Young players on loan
- Owen Goodman (Goalkeeper) Huddersfield Town; Barnsley
- Joe Whitworth (Goalkeeper) Exeter City
- Danny Imray (Defender) Blackpool; West Bromwich Albion
- Tayo Adaramola (Defender) Leyton Orient; Sheffield Wednesday
- Victor Akinwale (Forward) Eastbourne Borough
- Abdul Ouedraogo (Defender) SK Beveren U21
- David Ozoh (Midfielder) Derby County
- Jemiah Umolu (Forward) Bromley
- Abdul Ouedraogo (Defender) SV Beveren
- Hindolo Mustapha (Midfielder) FC Nürnberg; West Bromwich Albion
- Marcus Hill (Goalkeeper) Raynes Park
- Jake Grante (Defender) St Albans City; AFC Totton
Crystal Palace Academy Players in the First Team 2025/26
- Rio Cardines (Defender) #59
- Benjamin Casey (Forward) #73
- Joel Drakes-Thomas (Midfielder) #86
- Daniel Imray (Defender) #30
- Kaden Rodney (Midfielder) #42
- George King (Midfielder) #60
- Dean Benamar (Defender) #72
Crystal Palace Academy International Players 2025/26
- Platon (Forward) Moldova U15
- Lucca Benetton (Goalkeeper) England U16
- Mylo Bernard (Forward) England U16
- Joel Drakes-Thomas (Forward) England U17
- Benji Casey (Forward) England U18
- Dean Benamar (Defender) England U18
- Charlie Walker-Smith (Defender) Wales U19
- Matteo Dashi (Midfielder) Albania U19
- George King (Defender) Republic of Ireland U19
- Eyimofe Jemide (Defender) England U20
- Rio Cardines (Defender) Trinidad and Tobago First Team
- Owen Goodman (Goalkeeper) Canada First Team
Academy Competitions
U18 Premier League
The league divides teams into North and South groups for the U18s, calling it the U18 Premier League.
Crystal Palace Under-18 play in the South League
Below are the team standings at the winter break, marking roughly the halfway point of the season.
U17 and U18 Premier League Cup
In 2017, the Premier League introduced the U18 Premier League Cup and the U16 Premier League Cup, renaming the latter to the U17 Premier League Cup in 2020 for their respective age groups.
The seven group winners, along with the best runner-up determined by total points, goal difference, and then head-to-head record, will progress to the quarterfinals.
U17 Premier League Cup Group Stage
Crystal Palace U17 are drawn in Group A against under 17 teams from Arsenal, Fulham and Watford.
- Crystal Palace U17 won away against Arsenal U17 (0 – 3)
- Crystal Palace U17 drew at home against Fulham U17 (1 – 1)
- Crystal Palace U17 won at home against Watford U17 (4 – 1)
U18 Premier League Cup Group Stage
Crystal Palace U18 are drawn in Group D against under 18 teams from Chelsea, Manchester City and Sheffield United.
- Crystal Palace U18 drew at home against Manchester City U18 (3 – 3)
- Stuart Oduro
- Benjamin Casey
- Joél Drakes-Thomas
- Crystal Palace U18 won away against Sheffield United U18 (1 – 3)
- Makai Bernard-Ferguson
- Chuks Okoli
- Benjamin Casey
- Crystal Palace U18 won at home against Chelsea U18 (4 – 0)
Quarter Final
- Crystal Palace U18 won away against Peterborough United U18 (1 – 3)
- Joshua Muwana
- Donte Martin (2)
Semi Final
Crystal Palace U18 have been drawn against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, 4th March at 12:00
FA Youth Cup
Third Round Proper
Crystal Palace U18 have been drawn at home against Bradford City U18
- Crystal Palace U18 won at home against Bradford City U18 (3 – 0)
- Benji Casey
- Stuart Oduro (2)
Fourth Round Proper
- Crystal Palace U18 won away against Newcastle United U18 (0 – 4)
- David Angibeaud
- Benjamin Casey (2)
- Dean Benamar
Fifth Round Proper
- Crystal Palace U18 won away against Stevenage U18 (1 – 2)
- Stuart Oduro
- Alfie Thornett (OG)
Premier League 2
Starting from the 2023 season, all 26 Category 1 teams compete in a single league using the Swiss-style format.
Entry into or removal from this league depends on meeting the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) accreditation criteria.
Below are the team standings at the winter break, marking roughly the halfway point of the season.
Premier League International Cup
The participating teams are split into four groups of eight, each comprising four UK-based Under-21 teams and four invited overseas clubs represented by their development squads.
Each UK team will host all four overseas clubs in their group. The results will determine the standings in each group, with the top two teams advancing to the knockout stages.
U21 Premier League International Cup Group Stage
Crystal Palace will face Borussia Mönchengladbach, FC Nordsjaelland, Juventus and Valencia in Group B of the initial phase of the tournament.
Fulham, Leicester City and West Brom are the other UK-based teams in their group.
- Tue 4 Nov, 19:00 – Crystal Palace U21 v Valencia U21 (VBS Community Stadium)
- Wed 12 Nov, 19:00 – Crystal Palace U21 v Juventus U21 (VBS Community Stadium)
- Wed 26 Nov, 19:00 – Crystal Palace U21 v FC Nordsjælland U21 (VBS Community Stadium)
- Wed 21 Jan, 19:00 – Crystal Palace U21 v Borussia (VBS Community Stadium)
- Crystal Palace U21 lost at home against Valencia Mestalla (0 – 1)
- Crystal Palace U21 won at home against Juventus U21 (3 – 1)
- Adler Nascimento
- Seb Williams
- Benji Casey
- Crystal Palace U21 won at home against FC Nordsjaelland U21 (3 – 2)
- Dylan Reid
- Benji Casey (2)
Vertu Trophy (EFL Trophy)
The Vertu Trophy is a midweek knockout competition that includes clubs from EFL League One and League Two, along with 16 invited teams from Premier League and EFL Championship clubs that have Category One Academies.
The competition is regionalised from the opening stage through to the quarter-finals, featuring eight groups in the northern section and eight in the southern section.
Each group features one Under-21 Premier League side
Crystal Palace Under-21s have been drawn into Southern Group E, where they will face Bromley, Stevenage and AFC Wimbledon.
The fixtures will take place on:
- Bromley v Crystal Palace U21 – Tuesday 2 September, 7.45 pm
- AFC Wimbledon v Crystal Palace U21 – Tuesday 16 September, 7.00 pm
- Stevenage v Crystal Palace U21 – Tuesday 21 October, 7.00 pm
- Crystal Palace U21 lost away against Bromley (3 – 3) (4 – 3 on pens)
- Adler Nascimento
- Zach Marsh (2)
- Crystal Palace lost away against AFC Wimbledon (3 – 1)
- Asher Agbinone
- Crystal Palace lost away against Stevenage (5 – 2)
- George King
- Kaden Rodney
Crystal Palace Academy News
6th June 2025
Seb Williams has signed his first professional contract with Crystal Palace.
9th June 2025
An offer has been made to the following Palace scholars:
- Kai-Reece Adams-Collman
- Jesse Derry
- Tyler Whyte
24th June 2025
21-year-old defender Sean Grehan has completed a permanent transfer to Doncaster Rovers in the EFL League One.
23rd July 2025
Crystal Palace U18s have signed left-back Khyan Frazer-Williams on a free transfer. He joins from AFC Dunstable and Varsity Nine, where he played last season.
Academy forward Ademola Ola-Adebomi has completed a permanent move to Austrian Bundesliga club WSG Tirol.
24th July 2025
Crystal Palace Academy left wing-back Dean Benamar has signed his first professional contract with the club, having joined at Under-14 level.
5th August 2025
Malcolm Ebiowei has finalised a permanent move to Blackpool.
The 21-year-old winger originally signed for Crystal Palace in the summer of 2022, having made his Championship breakthrough with Derby County.
15th August 2025
Crystal Palace have completed the signing of 20-year-old goalkeeper Harry Lee, who joins the club on a free transfer from Exeter City.
19th August 2025
18-year-old defender Tyler Whyte has signed his first professional contract with Crystal Palace.
1st September 2025
Franco Umeh has sealed a permanent switch to Portsmouth. The Republic of Ireland Under-21 international originally joined from Cork City in February 2023 and has since been named in 15 senior matchday squads.
21st October 2025
Crystal Palace have exited the EFL Trophy following a spirited performance against the high-flying League One side, falling 5–2 in their final group-stage match.
24th October 2025
Crystal Palace Academy goalkeeper Lucca Benetton has earned a call-up to the England Under-16 squad for the upcoming Football Federations Cup in Antalya, Türkiye.
10th November 2025
Owen Goodman has received his first senior call-up to the Canada Men’s National Team ahead of their November international fixtures against Ecuador and Venezuela.
20th November 2025
Academy forward Donte Martin has signed his first professional contract with Crystal Palace.
25th November 2025
Crystal Palace U18s will face Bradford City U18 in the FA Youth Cup third round on Friday, December 5th, with kick-off at 6:00 pm.
The young Eagles will host the young Bantams at Selhurst Park.
5th December 2025
Crystal Palace U18s will face Newcastle United or Portsmouth U18s away in the FA Youth Cup fourth round proper, with the fixture date yet to be confirmed.
7th January 2026
Crystal Palace Under-21s captain Luke Browne has completed a permanent move to Notts County.
The 20-year-old Republic of Ireland defender has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract, with the option of a further year.
23rd January 2026
Crystal Palace Under-18s will make their first-ever appearance at the Dallas Cup after being invited to the Gordon Jago Super Group.
The 2026 tournament takes place in Texas from 29 March to 5 April.
3rd February 2026
Makai Bernard-Ferguson has signed his first professional contract with the Crystal Palace.
23rd March 2026
Crystal Palace Under-18 will no longer be participating in the 2026 edition of the Dallas Cup due to a congested fixture schedule.