Young Lion Luke urged to maintain high standards
7:30am Tuesday 7th February 2012 in Latest
LUKE Woodland, Wanderers’ latest graduate to international football, has been tipped to step up from the academy ranks to reserve-team football, provided he maintains his high standard.
The 16-year-old central midfielder helped England Under-17s to victory in the Algarve Tournament in southern Portugal over the weekend, starting in two of the games and appearing as substitute in the other as they finished top of the table in the round robin competition.
And Wanderers U18s head coach David Lee believes the youngster who earned his England call on the back of his performances for the Academy, could become a reserve-team regular.
“Luke’s call-up was deserved because his performances this season have been of a consistently high standard,” Lee said.
“It’s no surprise that he has done well in the tournament because he is a quality player and we have high hopes for him here at Bolton.
“He has got to keep playing well in the youth games from now until the end of the season, and with the way that he is progressing he could well find himself playing more reserve-team matches on a regular basis.”
Wanderers U18s made it three wins in a row in the Academy Premier League on Saturday when they followed up victories over Crewe and Manchester City by coming from behind to beat Liverpool 2-1 at Euxton with goals from Georg Iliev and James Caton.
click2find
