The New Saints FC’s Academy continues to go from strength to strength, and that has been highlighted this season by four Academy graduates signing second-year deals with the club.

Lewis Rees, Louis Bradford, Beau Cornish and Josh Bailey all signed their first professional contracts in the Summer of 2020, and having impressed the coaching staff over the course of the last 12 months, the quartet were all offered an extended stay with the 13-time Cymru Premier champions.

Cornish and Bailey were regularly involved in the first-team squad last season, while Bradford and Rees both impressed during loan spells with Aberystwyth Town and Cardiff Met University, respectively.

Speaking afterwards, the club’s Assistant Coach and Head of Coaching, Chris Seargeant, said:

“It’s such a big achievement for everyone at the club to get the boys signed again. From all of the staff in the Academy, right through to the scholarship, it speaks volumes about the opportunities we’re trying to create by allowing them all the time they deserve to develop.

“They’ve done everything it takes over the last three years on the scholarship and during their first Pro season to get better, and every single one of them has displayed the attitude we require from every young player coming through.

“That’s been highlighted with Lewis [Rees] and Louis [Bradford] playing regularly in the JD Cymru Premier. Who knows what next season will bring, but they all have their own qualities and deserve a lot of credit for where they are at the moment. They’re the benchmark for the Academy currently and long may it continue!”

Lead image: Brian Jones