Artell says Academy Graduates are maturing nicely in his first-team

Crewe Alexandra boss David Artell has praised the development of our former Academy graduates, George Cooper and James Jones after they recently urpassed the 100 appearance mark for the Football Club.

Both young players have excelled this season and Artell has been delighted with their progress. Cooper, 20, has scored 8 goals and assisted in 9 others this season and Jones, 21, has netted a personal best of 9 goals and has recently been called up for Scotland U-21s again.

Artell told crewealex.net: “You tend to forget how young these players are and to reach the milestone of 100 games at their age is a terrific achievement.

“Coops has been terrific this season. As with all young players, he can have the odd dip in form but he has shown that he is no flash in the pan with some really consistent performances. He works his socks off and is a potential match winner for us.

“I left him out for the Portsmouth game but his reaction was excellent. He came back into it and was the best player at Crawley but an absolute country mile. His work ethic was terrific and so was his football.

“Jonah’s achievement of playing 100 games in central midfield should not be sniffed at either. His courage on the ball is second to none. He doesn’t hide and wants to influence the game. I would much prefer someone making mistakes and touching the ball 100 times than someone touching it 10 times and not making a mistake. He always wants the ball.

“He has been called up again for Scotland U-21 and I am pleased that he is continuing to get the recognition he deserves."