The Wolves academy side has continued to provide entertaining football in the Premier League Two this season.
The side sit 14th out of 26 teams and are above the likes of Manchester City, Aston Villa and West Brom.
This form has also transferred into the cup competitions with the manager James Collins overseeing a 2-1 win over PSV last month in the International Cup.
The youngsters are now on a four-game unbeaten run in the league with many players continuing to show promise.
Gary O’Neil has shown academy faith
Since he arrived at Molineux, Gary O’Neil has continued to show faith in the club’s upcoming prospects.
Nathan Fraser has been the club’s most recent success with the 18-year-old now being considered as a first-team player.
The striker was then brought on against Blackpool in the Carabao Cup where he netted his first professional goal as well as collected an assist in a 5-0 win at Molineux.
In the same game, Harvey Griffiths and Alfie Pond made their first-team debuts as O’Neil gave the youngsters a memorable night.
Even if upcoming talents are away from the club, O’Neil has still kept an eye on their progress.
Dexter Lembikisa who is currently on loan at Rotherham was praised by the Wolves manager after netting his first goal at the club in September.
However, despite there being a number of talented players away from the club, there are still a couple of youngsters O’Neil should keep an eye on this season.
Leon Chiwome
The 17-year-old has ‘wowed’ academy staff throughout the calendar year.
The striker signed his first professional contract back in February after an impressive run of form.
Four days after his 17th birthday, Chiwome netted a 48-minute hat-trick against Germany for England’s Under 17s.
This scoring spree saw him selected in the England squad for the Under 17 European Championships in the summer where he helped his country reach the quarter-finals.
For Wolves this season, he has been playing for both the Under 18s and the Under 21s.
This saw him make two starts in the EFL trophy against both Lincoln City and Derby County despite his young age.
Zimbabwe also named the youngster in their provisional squad for their 2026 World Cup qualifying games against Rwanda and Nigeria this month. However, he didn’t feature in the final team.
A player such as Chiwome who has serious talent should definitely be on O’Neil’s radar.
A first-team debut could well be on the way soon if he keeps up this kind of trajectory which may also deter any interest in the forward.
Owen Hesketh
The 21-year-old has been on fire this season for the academy.
Hesketh has scored four times as well as assisted one so far in the Premier League Two.
The Welsh youth international also netted in the EFL Trophy, as Wolves Under 21s beat Notts County 2-1.
Wolves clearly see talent in the youngster after he signed a two-year deal with an option of a third in March after some “exciting” performances.
Goals aren’t all that the midfielder offers either. According to Wolves, Hesketh has made 177 successful passes, eight tackles and 29 recoveries so far this campaign.
While he may be significantly older than Chiwome, captain Max Kilman and fellow defender Toti Gomes didn’t make their debuts until they were 21 and 22 years old.
An extra attacking midfielder could really help O’Neil out, especially if Neto cannot overcome his injury problems.
If Hesketh keeps up his goalscoring form, he may well force the manager’s hand and another first-team debut for an academy player could be just around the corner.