Henry Cartwright’s call-up to the Leicester City first team shows Ruud van Nistelrooy’s intentions and gives hope to those rising the ranks at the club.
Defensive midfielder Cartwright was on the bench for City at Newcastle on Saturday after a series of injuries and suspensions in the centre of the park. While the 19-year-old didn’t get onto the pitch, that van Nistelrooy even considered him is a boost to those in the Under-21s, especially as he was included at the expense of senior players like Odsonne Edouard.
Under Steve Cooper, City’s near-six-year run of having an academy player in the senior matchday squad ended at 288 games. But at Newcastle, van Nistelrooy included four players who joined the club at under-nine, while academy right-back Jayden Joseph also travelled with the group.
Academy involvement is a hot topic in the City fanbase, especially with prodigious talents like Jeremy Monga and Jake Evans coming through. and van Nistelrooy's call-up of Cartwright is a great sign, Under-21s boss Leon McSweeney has said. It should help his task of motivating the young starlets to get into first-team reckoning.
Speaking after the Under-21s’ 1-1 draw with Everton, McSweeney told the club: “So early on in the new management regime, to have that kind of academy input in first-team selection is a positive sign of things to come. We’ll just keep pushing our young players as a staff to make sure they get across the hedge and train with the first team and push for first-team inclusion.
“In terms of the crossover between us and them, it’s always been fluid. Coming in when Ruud did, he’s got 101 things on his plate, so it's a case of serving and making sure we’re on call for his every need.”
Cartwright is a Leicester local too, and attended Brockington College in Enderby. He’s determined to kick on after his taste of being around the first team.
The midfielder said: “It was a great experience. Being there and being a part of it, taking it all in, it was a brilliant experience and I’d love to do it again.
“During the week I was training with them every day, me and Jayden were. I had a thought in the back of my head that it was a maybe, with Bouba (Soumare) being out and stuff like that. I didn’t think too much about it because I didn’t want to get too overwhelmed. I got told I was travelling the day and I just kept my fingers crossed that I was on the bench, and I was.
“That’s all I want to do (make a first-team appearance). I’ve put years into this club and that’s where I want to get to and where I’ve always wanted to get to. Fingers crossed it comes my way. I just have to keep doing my own thing and hopefully it will come.”
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