AFC Bournemouth is pleased to announce that four under-18s have committed their immediate future to the club, signing new deals that will keep them with the Cherries next season.
Marcus Daws has signed as a third-year scholar, whilst Noa Boutin and Ferdinand Okoh have penned third year scholars and first year professional deals.
Centre-back and under-18s captain for the 2021/22 season, Owen Bevan, accepted a two-year professional deal earlier in the campaign.
The lads will link up with Shaun Cooper’s development squad next season, alongside new recruits Dominic Sadi and Chris Francis.
Daws is a versatile forward player, who joined the club from Southampton in the summer of 2020.
During his first season with the club, he netted 18 goals for Alan Connell’s youth team and has since been invited to three camps with Northern Ireland’s under-18 squad.
Boutin also arrived at Vitality Stadium during the same summer, having moved from France to link up with the Cherries.
Predominantly a left-back, he scored a crucial goal in this season’s FA Youth Cup to help his side reach the fifth round, before joining Poole Town on loan for the second half of the season.
Okoh is a popular member of the squad and has stepped up to train with Scott Parker’s first team at times during the 2021/22 campaign.
Having spent much of his youth days at Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham, the midfielder has excelled under Connell, helping the team win the Youth Alliance League back in February.
Finally, Bevan is a towering centre-back, who has captained the under-18s to the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup and the Youth Alliance League title this season.
Having joined the club as a nine-year-old and spent time on loan recently at Truro, he’s already featured regularly for the development squad this term and travelled with the first team on pre-season last year, playing in a friendly against Real Balompedica Linense in Spain.
Congratulations to all four lads for their new deals and we look forward to watching their development continue at AFC Bournemouth.
