Friday 1 May 2020 17:27, UK
Wycombe Wanderers are planning to become only the second club in English football to implement a 'B team'.
Although the financial uncertainty caused by coronavirus has put these plans on hold for now, the League One club still hope to make significant progress on their plans this year.
Wanderers effectively want to create a "shadow squad" made up of players on the fringes of the first team and promising young talent targeted via recruitment methods.
They would arrange invitational fixtures to give these players competitive minutes to develop and have a shot at breaking into Gareth Ainsworth's plans, which could be in the Championship next season.
Wycombe scrapped their academy in 2012 despite its reputation for developing talent including Jordon Ibe, whom they sold to Liverpool for £650,000 and then earned more than £1m from his subsequent sale to Bournemouth.
Their plans mirror the successful model installed by Championship side Brentford, who controversially scrapped their academy category two academy in favour of a B team in 2017.
It formed part of the new club model to develop young players and sell them on, and their most notable success story so far has been Chris Mepham, who progressed into the first team and was sold to Bournemouth for more than £12m.
Wycombe were chasing a League One play-off spot prior to football's suspension, outside those places on goal-difference only, but are among the clubs concerned about the cost of resuming the season behind closed doors.
Like most clubs in Leagues One and Two, they receive most of their cashflow from gate receipts and they fear the cost of paying players, running games and ensuring health and safety amidst the pandemic would out-weight any returns.
