Watch football stars of the future in Exeter

A rare opportunity to see some top young footballers and potential stars of the future is on offer when Exeter City’s Under 21 team play West Ham Under 21s on Wednesday 2 December in the Premier League Under 21 Cup Round of 32. The game is at Exeter City’s St James Park stadium with a 7pm Kick Off.

West Ham has one of the foremost football academies in the country producing an endless supply of young talent. Most famously they developed Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters who were all World Cup winners with England in 1966.

Other notable graduates of the West Ham Academy include Frank Lampard (Senior and Junior), Trevor Brooking, Harry Redknapp, Paul Ince, Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Jermaine Defoe.

A current West Ham youth starlet, who could well play in the game at Exeter, is Reece Oxford. He made his first team debut for the Hammers this season when aged just 16 years and 198 days – the Club’s youngest ever senior player. He is also the second youngest player to ever appear in the Premier League.

Exeter City also has an excellent reputation for developing young footballers. In recent years several young Grecians have graduated to play with Premier League clubs. These include Dean Moxey (with Crystal Palace), Danny Seaborne (Southampton), George Friend (Wolves) and Matt Grimes (Swansea).

Another City youngster, Sean Goss, has just broken through the ranks at Manchester United and was on the bench for their Premier League game at Watford on 21 November.

That same day saw Exeter secure a famous victory away at Devon rivals Plymouth Argyle and the City squad included Academy graduates Jordan Moore-Taylor (who captained the team), Ollie Watkins, Jamie Reid and Tom Nichols. Watkins, Reid and Nichols have all played for Exeter’s Under 21 side this season as they defeated Southend and Peterborough to reach the last 32.

So who knows which future stars you might be watching on 2 December? Tickets cost just £2 for under 18s or students, £4 for over 62s and £8 for adults.