Wycombe Wanderers’ academy held its inaugural ‘Talent ID Day’ to find prospective new recruits for its under-18 squad.

Taking place on Tuesday, October 29, the event was held at the club’s Harlington training ground where six invited sides from local private football academies, each playing in a round-robin nine-a-side tournament, with the winning side receiving a trophy from first-team manager Matt Bloomfield.

Following Mikhail Lomtadze’s takeover of the Adams Park club in May, plans have been put in place to try and reform an academy for Wycombe.

The previous establishment closed in 2012 following the club’s then ongoing financial issues.

Wanderers have submitted plans to the EFL for a Category 4 Academy Licence for the 2025/26 season.

The Harlington Cup comprised of Academy director Jeremy Sauer commented: “It’s been a fantastic occasion and a real landmark moment in Wycombe Wanderers’ history, with the first ball being kicked in any academy structure since the previous setup was closed in 2012.

“There was a lot of talent on show and we look forward to bringing together a group of young players to form a training group for the remainder of the current season, with a view to formalising an under-18 side as part of our Category 4 academy from next season.

“We are making great progress with the launch of the academy, with fantastic support from the owners and first-team environment, and it was great to see many of the senior squad and staff engaged in the tournament and giving the youngsters encouragement.

“This is just the first of many initiative that we’ll be running over the coming weeks and months to continue to build out the academy, and we’re delighted to get started.”

In addition to the ID Day, Wycombe have also appointed Harry Hudson as the club’s professional development phase under-18s head coach.

Harry joined the Chairboys following his exit from Brentford’s academy, and has previously managed at first-team level at Sevenoaks Town, Whyteleafe FC and Croydon FC respectively.

He is also the co-founder of the successful Kinetic Foundation, a registered charity helping young people through sport into employment, education and training.

Sauer added: “Plans for the academy are progressing at great pace and we are delighted to be building an extremely strong, highly qualified team to drive it forward to meet the ambitions of the club’s vision of delivering a successful Category 1 academy in the near future.”

Hudson told the club’s website: “I’m super excited to be here.

“It’s a fantastic project and I’m delighted to be part of a club with such ambition and where there’s a really strong culture and alignment with the first-team, so I’m thrilled to get started and embark on a new journey.”