Tammy Abraham's not yet 18, but he already looks a man amongst, well, men. Kingstonian may be in the Isthmian Premier League (7th tier), but they count not just youngsters among their numbers. Abraham towers over just about everyone on the pitch, and if he can develop his mental and technical skills to match his physical ones, we're in for a treat over the next few years.
For now, he shall continue to light up the youth leagues, making the step up from mainly U18 to mainly U21 football this year. He scored 41 goals in all competitions last season (matching Dominic Solanke) and, based on this first pre-season match, he's set to pick up exactly where he left off. Lovely assist from the blond-tipped Kasey Palmer as well.
Under-21 manager Adi Viveash is expecting to rely on a very young squad this year, but that's the price we pay for having such excellent talent around. Others making an appearance in this match included Charlie Colkett (18), Alex Kiwomya (19), Kasey Palmer (18), Kyle Scott (17), Reece Mitchell (19), Mukhtar Ali (17), and Fankaty Dabo (19). Jordan Houghton (19) was the one with the missed penalty, while Mitchell Beeney (19) pulled off several excellent saves. All five of our newest professionals, Jay Dasilva, Fikayo Tomori, Miro Muheim, Hubert Adamczyk, and Charlie Wakefield played a part as well.
Both the U21 and the U18 squad -- here's a list of our newest academy scholars (including a junior Chalobah and a second Dasilva) -- have decamped to Austria for pre-season training. Both squads are next in action tomorrow (Friday), with the U21s taking on (the youth, presumably, of) Red Bull Salzburg and the U18s matching up against Sturm Graz.