Jermaine Anderson named Young Player of the Month.
Peterborough United midfielder Jermaine Anderson, 19, has been named The Football League’s Young Player of the Month for November. The award covers players that play in all three divisions of the Sky Bet Football League.Registering three goals in four league games through November, Anderson played a starring role for the Posh who pushed in to the Play-Off places with four wins from four in Sky Bet League 1. Graham Westley’s men are currently the top scoring team in the country.
Having scored in an FA Cup win versus Burton Albion at the start of the month, the England under-18 international scored the winner in a 2-1 home win over Fleetwood before claiming a brace and an assist in the 5-1 away win at Crewe Alexandra the following week.
Released by Arsenal at the age of 16, Anderson joined the Peterborough United Academy in 2012 and made his debut for the club later that year. Clocking 47 further appearances prior to the 2014/15 season, Anderson has cemented his place in the first team this term and been a standout performer during Peterborough’s impressive run under Westley.
Winning the award will be a boost for Anderson who recently suffered a knee injury that could well see him out for the remainder of the season after surgery. On collecting The Football League’s Young Player of the Month Award for November, Anderson said:
"It's nice to win an award that a lot of great footballers have won in the past, Wilfried Zaha and other players like that, so it's an honour for me to be in the same sort of bracket."
Reflecting on his injury, he added: "It's a shame for it (the injury) to happen but I'll be working hard with the physio, doing my rehab and hopefully coming back better, fitter, strong and I’ll see if I can improve on other areas."
Praising Anderson’s contribution to the team through November, Graham Westley, manager of Peterborough United added: “He's a fantastic athlete and a fantastic learner. He's a terrific lad, a very, very talented footballer technically, he's also added some goals to his games. He's working on all the things he needs to work on to be the very best he can be. He played very well, like a lot of our lads, during November and made some important contributions.”
Each season, Football League clubs invest more than £60m on identifying, training and educating the next generation of football talent.
There are 8,500 young players between the ages of 8 and 18 registered with League clubs, making Football League Youth Development the largest centrally co-ordinated young player programme in world football. Over 200 players aged 21 or under make their professional debuts for Football League clubs each season.
Commenting on Anderson’s award, David Wetherall, Head of Youth Development at The Football League, said: “Jermaine Anderson had a fantastic month and despite his young age has been a consistent performer for Peterborough this season. While news of his injury will come as a blow, there is no reason that with the right application Jermaine cannot regain the form that has made him one of the most exciting prospects in The Football League.”
Each month the accolade is awarded by The Football League to the young player who has made the most significant contribution and impact in first team football. For more information on the award and each month’s winner visit www.football-league.co.uk
This is the sixth season of the Award, with previous winners including the likes of Victor Moses, Will Hughes, Wilfried Zaha, Patrick Bamford and Dele Alli.