Academy manager Luke Hussey believes Nelson Sanca and Jac Norris can be proud of their contributions last season, and is confident the duo can have big futures at Newport County.
Sanca joined County's academy last summer as a first-year scholar after being scouted while playing for Canton Football Club.
The 17-year-old made his first-team debut against Tranmere Rovers back in April and earned himself three consecutive starts on the back of his performances, as well as winning the club's academy player of year award.
Norris, meanwhile, was another young player who made his first steps with the first-team last season, making his professional EFL debut against Grimsby Town in the same month as Sanca.
The teenage midfielder, who came through Cwmbran Celtic’s youth set-up, made three senior appearances for the Exiles and will be hoping to build more minutes next season.
Since putting pen-to-paper with the academy, both players have played an integral part in the under-18s’ recent success which saw them reach the quarter-final of the FAW Youth Cup last season.
And Hussey believes that both players’ attributes point to plenty of positives for both players and club.
“It was a really big year for the academy last season. The whole purpose of the academy is to produce first-team players,” he said.
“For that to happen the academy needs a pathway and we are really grateful and lucky that Graham [Coughlan] provided that opportunity for young players.
“That’s not just the debuts we saw with Nelson and Jac last season but more operational each week. Graham attends academy games to scout players, has discussions with us and allows a number of youngsters to train with the first team each week as well.
“Last season, 13 scholars had access to first-team football, whether that was training, games or just being in and around that matchday environment.
“Yes, Nelson and Jac made their debuts last season but also the likes of Corey Evans, Alfie Young, Fraser Needham and Morgan Evans have all also been close to featuring as well.
“For both Nelson and Jac it’s two very different stories. This time last year, Nelson was playing grassroots football.
“We identified Nelson very quickly and we brought him in over pre-season, and it was relatively obvious to us that we had to sign him.
“His rise has been quite meteoric, and everyone is thrilled with his development, and we are really proud of him.
“Making his first-team debut would have been really special for him and his family. He’s still got a lot of work to do to improve his game further, but it’s been a great to start for him.”
He finished: “As for Jac, his story is very different to Nelson.
“Jac’s backstory is very traditional as he has been with the academy for a very long time.
“As an academy we identified him very early on as someone who’s technically very sound. It’s been said before he is someone who is very brave on the ball and sees the game a certain way.
“We got massive high hopes for Jac, he is someone who has huge potential. Again, similar to Nelson, he has certain sides to his game that he needs to build-upon, but both of them are two really good success stories for the academy.”
