In The Spotlight

The non-league scene is home to an abundance of young talent, but rarely do they get the exposure or recognition that they deserve.

There is a long list of players whose roots stem from outside of the Football League that have since gone on to do well at the top of the game. Now regular top flight defenders Ethan Pinnock and Max Kilman started out at Dulwich Hamlet and Maidenhead United respectively; Jamie Vardy plied his trade in non-league with the likes of Stockbridge Park Steels, FC Halifax Town and Fleetwood Town; and more recently midfielder Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu became the first player to go from the National League to the Premier League with the same club (Luton Town).

And, the next crop of young players who will no doubt go on to forge careers in the upper echelons of the game are already turning week-in, week-out in non-league for their respective sides. My aim is to try and shine a light on the best young players currently on the books of non-league sides that I think could well become regulars in the Football League or even still beyond that the Premier League.

Last season, we put a piece up on the blog focusing on players from Step 3 and below of non-league that we felt could well get a big move to the EFL in the January window; we have already seen some of those get moves during the summer. Aldershot Town attacker Josh Stokes is one of those, and he is the very inspiration for the launch of this new series entitled ‘In The Spotlight’.

Every week, the blog will be featuring one young player currently in the non-league pyramid that we think can go on to bigger and better things, just like Josh Stokes has already done this term. Last season, Stokes was on the books of AFC Sudbury and was one player we featured as being ‘the next big thing’. He earnt a move to National League side Aldershot Town in the summer, and has already lived up to that big billing with a string of impressive displays for The Shots. We want to highlight the next generation of Josh Stokes and identify players before they get their big break. Thus, ‘In The Spotlight’ was born.

One player. Every Thursday.