2017/18 AFC Youth Academy Graduates

Aberdeen FC are pleased to announce that four of the most promising youngsters from the AFC Youth Academy have signed professional contracts with the club. Dean Campbell, Jack MacKenzie, Archie Mair and Ethan Ross, along with their parents were invited to Pittodrie for a VIP reception whilst they signed their contracts.

Neil Simpson, along with Gavin Levey and Scott Anderson, were there to greet them, and we asked Neil to tell us about the latest AFC Youth Academy graduates.

“Dean Campbell is someone who the supporters know all about. What they might not know is that Dean has won the Statoil Talent of the Season award for three consecutive years. That’s a great achievement as there have been older players of a very good quality and standard within the system during that time.

“Dean, a local lad from the Bridge of Don, is left footed and a sitting midfield player. He has always played up a year and over the past couple of seasons has been involved with the U20s and, of course, has made his first team debut.

“One of his biggest qualities is his temperament. Dean is very focused. He is a big supporter of Aberdeen Football Club, so it was his dream to play for the Dons. He has fulfilled that ambition but he knows when he comes in full-time to start pre-season training in a couple of weeks, there is still a lot of hard work ahead of him.

“Playing for the first-team was a big moment for Dean but also for all the other boys within the Academy. They will look at it and think that if it can happen to a 16-year-old it can happen to them. It’s a huge incentive.

“There are a lot of adjustments to be made for all our new signings when you have just been doing schoolboy training. Dean has had the benefit though of training every day at Hazlehead Academy so in terms of the load and the extra training, it should not affect those boys who are stepping up from the SFA Performance School as much.

“Last year we brought in the likes of Seb Ross and Chris Antoniazzi. They were the first batch of players who have come through from the school and this is now the second group. Time will tell how successful they will be but when Scottish players are practicing with the ball every day of the week, twice a day sometimes, it can only improve the product and the potential of the player. The likes of Dean will have a better idea of the game because he is involved in it every day.

“Dean has played international football for Scotland and Ethan Ross has as well at U15 schoolboy level. I remember watching him in one of those international games and he was one of the best players on the pitch. Ethan is a midfield player who likes to get forward. He is good at finding little pockets of space to get on the ball. His first thought is always to go forward and he is good at making late runs into the box. Technically, he is a really good player. Obviously, he has a mentor in his brother Seb who is a year older and another player we have high hopes for.

“Patrick Maughan, our Youth Academy Sports Scientist, has worked on his physicality and I think when he becomes fully grown, there is huge potential in Ethan. He’s a really good player.

“Meanwhile every time I see Archie Mair, he seems to have grown! What’s good about Archie is that he is the modern goalkeeper. He is fantastic with the ball at his feet, a great passer of the ball. He is a goalkeeper who loves to play out from the back when he can. He is a good footballer as well as a good goalkeeper. Again, he is coming in as a 16 year old, so physically, there is still a big amount of development ahead. Its early days but he has all the raw materials to be a really good goalkeeper- and he has also been involved at international level.

“As for Jack MacKenzie, I always remember we had a trial match at U13 level and Craig Brown came along to watch. He said afterwards, “I know who your best player is within that squad”, and he picked out Jack.

“That was at U13 level and since then Jack has been very steady and consistent with his performances. The last few years he has had a lot of problems with his knees which has hampered his development. It’s just a problem during his growth and that does happen to some of the boys. It’s not something that will affect him in the future but it did stop him reaching his full potential for a few years as he had to miss some training and some games. But this last year, everything you thought he had when he was younger has come to the fore. A really good left-back who can also play in midfield, really good on the ball and very determined. I have high hopes Jack will fulfil his potential. Like Dean and Ethan, he also featured for the U20s at the end of the last season.

“All four have been part of a successful U17 side this year. Although they narrowly lost out in the race for the title, when you analyse the season, they won 21 out of 26 games. They beat Celtic away from home and the run they went on at the start of the campaign was very impressive, winning their first 12 games. They showed a lot of good potential within that squad and hopefully there will be a few more coming through next season who will go full-time from that side. There are a number within that group who we have high hopes for and then we have another good group coming up to U15 level this season, so the future is very bright.

“All the boys have been in and around the club for spells. The beauty is that you now have the transition from the U17s to full-time as we have Scott Anderson working with both squads. The boys are all asked in to train full time during the holidays and when they have time off school. A lot of players are getting that experience prior to coming in full time, some of them for two years before becoming a full-time player.

“When I was a youngster, we would do the Lenny Taylor and Bobby Clark training but I was only involved with that for six months before I came in full-time so it was very daunting when I came in. One minute I was playing for Middlefield Boys Club and the next I was training with Joe Harper! Back then, there were a lot more mixed games in training. I have always said that at that stage I could never have seen myself making it in the game, I felt to get to that level was going to be too big a step up. But it is amazing how you get used to the experience.

“For our four signings and for any young player, it is just about being ready for that moment when you get your chance. To do that you have to work hard every day in training, giving it your best, learning as much as you can and then when you get your opportunity, be ready for it. You must give yourself the best chance possible.”

RedTV subscribers can watch an interview with Dean Campbell- please click here to view