Youngsters sign in

Last updated : 27 September 2007 By Tony Scholes
Back L->R: Chris Lynch, James Craggs, Ben Hoskin, Chris Anderson, Dan Brown, Stef Ritchie
Front L->R: Alex-Ray Harvey, Matt Lomas, Wes Fletcher, Nik Kudiersky
Dil Chaggar was unavailable for the photograph
© Burnley FC

All eleven have signed two year apprenticeship deals with the club, and will join six players who are about to move into the second year of their deals.

There's a goalkeeper, two full backs, three central defenders, three midfielders a winger and a striker who will be joining second year apprentices Lewis Craig, Adam Kay, Alex McDonald, Jonathan Sergeant, Dean Stott and Rob Turner.

Some of the newcomers have actually been with Burnley for some time in the centre of excellence teams and no fewer than three of them were involved when we lifted the Lancashire FA Youth Cup in May 2006. Most of them have featured in the youth team at one time or another during the 2006/07 season and some of them have been regulars in the Youth Alliance League.

Clarets Mad would like to wish all of them the best of luck during their apprenticeship and a wish that some of them can go on and make careers for themselves in football, preferably with the Clarets.

The new apprentices are:

Chris Anderson

Chris has been with the club's centre of excellence for a number of years and is a local Burnley lad. Nicknamed 'Scorer' due to his goal scoring exploits in the Under-12 days he has now settled into a central midfield role. He has claimed his first youth team goal, last October in an Alliance Cup tie against Stockport.

Dan Brown

Dan joined the centre of excellence early in 2007 after previously being with our local rivals Blackburn Rovers. He's a strong central defender who hails from Warrington, and Blackburn's loss is our gain.

Dil Chaggar

Dil has travelled from Germany to join us. He is born in Milton Keynes but his family are based in Germany and he's been playing for Rheindahlen Boys, but he's been tracked by our youth development team for the past year. A midfielder he is equally at home on the right and in the centre.

James Craggs

The word quick comes to mind when I see the name James Craggs. He's a winger and a winger with some pace. Like Scorer, he's from Burnley and was the Burnley sprint champion. Again he has been with the club for some time.

Wes Fletcher

Wes is from Ormskirk and joined Burnley towards the end of last season having previously been with Liverpool. A striker, he is particularly strong at holding the ball up and bringing others into play.

Alex-Ray Harvey

Alex-Ray has been a regular in the youth team over the last year and also featured in the reserve team at the end of the 2005/06 season. Another Burnley lad who has been with the club for some years, he's a strong and aggressive central midfield player.

Ben Hoskin

The name's familiar, but Ben is taller than his Uncle Ashley, and hails from Accrington. I've seen him play in the centre of defence and at full back, and it is right back which is considered to be his strongest position.

Nik Kudiersky

Nik made his youth team debut early last season and joined the club's centre of excellence during the 2005/06 season. He's from Glossop, and plays in the centre of defence. He's big and strong in that position.

Matt Lomas

Matt's a left back, and one with some pace. He loves to get forward and is a good crosser of the ball. He's only just joined Burnley having previously been with his home town club Bolton Wanderers.

Chris Lynch

Chris is a Blackburn born centre half, but he's been with the Clarets for a number of years now. He already gained extensive experience with the youth team during last season and looks good both in the air and on the ground.

Stef Ritchie

Stef joined our centre of excellence at the beginning of 2007 and like Dan Brown had previously been with Blackburn Rovers. He's a goalkeeper and will be competing with Jonathan Sergeant for that position next season.