Cambridge United is delighted to confirm nine exciting players who have signed their scholarships with the Academy...
Dan Carey Evans, Liam Chadwick, Mohamed Habib, Reece Hipwell, George Hoddle, Ronan Ismaili, Amaru Kaunda, George Scales, Patrick Staszewski will start their scholarship at the end of this month.
Hipwell and Hoddle both were regulars throughout the 2021/22 campaign which included the successful FA Youth Cup run, whilst Carey Evans, Chadwick, Habib, Ismaili, Kaunda, Scales and Staszewski all featured during the second half of the season.
All nine youngsters will be looking to continue their individual journeys through their Scholarship programme and hope to progress through regular U18s football or our U21 Development programme.
The youngsters will be integrated into the youth team when they travel to their pre-season camp in Oakham next month.
Dan Carey Evans
Dan is a strong central defender who shows his strengths in both penalty areas. He enjoys defending and takes pride on continuously improving. After living in Spain for a large part of his childhood, he joined the Academy aged 13.
Liam Chadwick
Liam is the latest Chadwick to progress through at Cambridge Utd, following in the footsteps of his dad, Luke, and his older brother, Louis. Liam has been at the Academy since aged 10 and he predominantly plays in the middle of the pitch where he enjoys showcasing his impressive passing ability and hardworking defensive skills. He can also play as a central defender and was the U16s captain last season.
Mohamed Habib
Westminster born, Mo, is an exciting attacker who can cause defenders lots of problems through his low centre of gravity and dribbling skills. Having joined the Academy as an U15, Mo achieved his scholarship only a few months after signing for the Club.
Reece Hipwell
Left-back Reece has been at the Academy since aged 10. He is athletic, hardworking and tough to play against in both penalty areas. He spent most of his U16s season playing in the youth team and was vital to the U18s successful FA Youth Cup run in 2022. Reece will hope that he continues to perform at a high level this forthcoming season.
George Hoddle
Bishop Stortford boy George is a midfielder who loves to have the ball. He has an impressive ability to protect possession, help the team build and create goalscoring opportunities. As a U16 he was a regular in the youth team and also made several appearances for our U23s towards the back-end of the season. George will be highly motivated to continue his progression.
Ronan Ismali
Ronan is a forward-thinking, versatile attacker. After joining the Academy as an U16, he quickly made a positive impact through his direct approach on the ball, eye for goal and his ability to escape out of tight areas. Ronan concluded his season by scoring at the Abbey Stadium vs West Ham Utd in the Terry Baker Memorial game.
Amaru Kaunda
Centre-forward Amaru managed to score an impressive 33 goals for the U16s last season and also picked up the Valley Gold Invitational tournament top goalscorer award. His game is based around causing continuous problems for defenders through his hard-work, strength and reliable quality on the ball. Able to play across any position of the attacking line, Amaru is an attacker who will want to be influential in the youth team next season.
George Scales
Passionate full-back George is full of character and always brings this out onto the pitch whilst playing. He joined Cambridge during his U16 season, having previously played grassroots for Bowers & Pitsea. Direct and dangerous when attacking and strong when defending, George will really enjoy the competitive nature of youth team football next season.
Patrick Staszewski
Patrick is a well-balanced technical defender, who can play in several positions. He is very comfortable on the ball and enjoys playing out from the back to help get his team up the pitch. Patrick has had to learn a lot in a short time, having not played as defender until joining the Academy in his U15 season. Since then, he has developed into a tough defender who was the final squad member to earn their scholarship at the football club for next season.
The Club would like to wish all the new Scholars the very best of luck ahead of the new season.