Valencia hail Academy as sporting and financial lifeline in crisis years | OneFootball

Valencia’s academy has become a rare bright spot during the worst five-year period in the club’s history, underpinning survival on the pitch and easing finances through player sales, according to Superdeporte.

Marking the Paterna training base’s 34th anniversary, the club has released figures noting that the CIES Football Observatory ranks the academy inside the top 10 for producing players ready for elite competition.

This season there are 25 youth internationals across Spain, Canada, Argentina, Morocco, Ukraine, Hungary, Romania and Lithuania, and they also dominate the Valencian regional selection lists. In effect, one in seven eligible academy players is a current international.

Recent years have seen development and recruitment excel at Paterna, with influential figures such as José Giménez. Giorgi Mamardashvili, César Tárrega, Cristhian Mosquera and Javi Guerra have been central to avoiding relegation, while Yunus Musah, Yarek Gasiorowski, and also Mamardashvili and Mosquera have brought financial relief to a club hit by poor results and absence from Europe.

Even so, the pathway to the first team has been cut back. No academy player has made a league debut for more than a year, and prospects like Víctor Jr. and Marc Jurado may need loans or senior chances. Decisions loom this summer for the leading talents.

Source: Superdeporte