2023–24 Professional U21 Development League

The 2023–24 Professional U21 Development League was the 12th season of the Professional Development League system.

Premier League 2

Season	2023–24
Champions	Tottenham Hotspur U21s (1st Title)
Matches played	275
Goals scored	1,104 (4.01 per match) (1026 RS, 78 PO)
Top goalscorer	Will Lankshear Tottenham Hotspur U21s (18 goals) (5 playoffs) (23 total goals)
Biggest home win	Manchester United U21s 10–1 Stoke City U21s (26 August 2023)
Biggest away win	Leeds United U21s 1–7 Crystal Palace U21s (3 November 2023) Manchester City U21s 0–6 Norwich City U21s (17 December 2023) Newcastle United U21s 1–7 Chelsea U21s (8 March 2024)
Highest scoring	Manchester United U21s 10-1 Stoke City U21s (26 August 2023)
Longest winning run	11 Matches Tottenham Hotspur U21s August 12, 2023–January 27, 2024
Longest unbeaten run	12 Matches Tottenham Hotspur U21s 12 August 2023–17 February 2024
Longest winless run	12 Matches Leeds United U21s 22 September 2023–8 April 2024
Longest losing run	5 Matches Leeds United U21s 19 February 2024-8 April 2024
Highest attendance	4,182 Tottenham Hotspur U21s 3–1 Sunderland U21s (26 May 2024)
Lowest attendance	32 Reading U21s 3–0 Manchester City U21s (26 April 2024)
← 2022–23 2024–25 → All statistics correct as of 20 March 2024.

The Premier League 2 changed format for 2023–24 with one division instead of two.^[1]

Reading regained Category One status in the summer.^[2]

Premier League 2

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Tottenham Hotspur U21s (R, C)	20	14	4	2	54	28	+26	46	Qualification to the Elimination Playoffs and Premier League International Cup
2	West Ham United U21s	20	13	3	4	53	29	+24	42
3	Fulham U21s	20	11	5	4	52	30	+22	38
4	Chelsea U21s	20	11	3	6	53	32	+21	36
5	Arsenal U21s	20	10	6	4	47	33	+14	36
6	Reading U21s	20	10	5	5	35	35	0	35
7	Sunderland U21s	20	10	4	6	45	32	+13	34
8	Liverpool U21s	20	10	3	7	34	27	+7	33
9	Crystal Palace U21s	20	9	4	7	49	42	+7	31
10	Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s	20	9	4	7	39	36	+3	31
11	Middlesbrough U21s	20	9	4	7	38	39	−1	31
12	Manchester United U21s	20	8	5	7	56	43	+13	29
13	Brighton & Hove Albion U21s	20	8	5	7	35	38	−3	29	Qualification to the Elimination Playoffs
14	Nottingham Forest U21s	20	7	7	6	30	33	−3	28
15	Blackburn Rovers U21s	20	8	3	9	41	58	−17	27
16	Aston Villa U21s	20	7	4	9	40	48	−8	25
17	Southampton U21s	20	7	3	10	43	47	−4	24
18	Norwich City U21s	20	7	2	11	43	42	+1	23
19	Stoke City U21s	20	7	2	11	38	55	−17	23
20	Leicester City U21s	20	5	5	10	33	41	−8	20
21	West Bromwich Albion U21s	20	5	4	11	24	36	−12	19
22	Newcastle United U21s	20	5	4	11	29	46	−17	19
23	Manchester City U21s	20	4	6	10	32	50	−18	18
24	Leeds United U21s	20	5	3	12	28	48	−20	18
25	Everton U21s	20	4	5	11	25	40	−15	17
26	Derby County U21s	20	5	1	14	30	38	−8	16

Source: Premier League 2 Table
(C) Champions; (R) Regular Season Champions

Results

Home \ Away	ARS	AVL	BLB	BHA	CHE	CRY	DER	EVE	FUL	LEE	LEI	LIV	MNC	MNU	MID	NEW	NOR	NFO	REA	SOU	STK	SUN	TOT	WBA	WHU	WOL
Arsenal U21	—	3–5	—	6–3	—	—	—	—	—	1–1	4–1	—	3–3	—	1–0	—	—	—	3–0	4–2	—	—	1–1	—	3–0	—
Aston Villa U21	—	—	—	—	0–4	—	3–1	2–1	1–1	—	2–2	—	—	—	4–0	—	1–4	—	—	—	2–2[a]	2–3	—	0–3	—	—
Blackburn Rovers U21	2–2	2–3	—	—	—	3–3	—	—	—	—	4–1	1–0	—	2–5	—	2–1	—	—	—	—	3–6	0–4	—	—	1–3	—
Brighton & Hove Albion U21	—	2–1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2–4	0–0	4–2	—	—	—	1–1	2–0	1–0	0–3	—	—	—	—	2–1	1–4	—
Chelsea U21	2–4	—	6–1	2–3	—	—	—	—	2–2	—	1–1	—	—	3–2	—	—	—	2–3	3–2	2–0	—	—	—	3–0	—	—
Crystal Palace U21	—	4–2	—	2–1	2–2	—	—	0–0	2–5	—	—	2–4	—	3–2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5–0[b]	3–0	1–5	—
Derby County U21	—	—	1–3	2–3	—	—	—	3–0	—	—	—	1–1	4–2	—	—	—	—	0–1	5–1	—	1–2	—	0–2	—	—	1–2
Everton U21	1–1	—	2–3	0–4	—	—	—	—	—	—	4–3	—	1–1	—	—	—	2–1	1–2	—	5–0	—	—	—	1–3	—	0–2
Fulham U21	—	—	1–2	3–0	—	—	2–1	—	—	—	1–3	—	2–1	1–1	2–2	—	—	—	7–1	5–1	—	—	0–2	—	—	—
Leeds United U21	—	—	—	—	0–2	1–7	3–0	1–1[c]	3–5	—	—	2–2	—	—	—	—	0–2	—	—	—	2–1	1–3	—	—	2–5	—
Leicester City U21	—	—	—	—	—	1–1[d]	2–1	—	—	2–0	—	—	1–3	—	1–3	2–2[e]	2–3	—	—	1–2	3–0	—	—	—	—	1–3
Liverpool U21	0–2	0–2	—	—	2–1	—	—	4–0	2–0	—	—	—	2–0	—	1–4	—	—	—	—	—	3–1	—	—	—	0–4	2–0
Manchester City U21	—	4–4	—	—	1–2	0–3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0–6	2–0	—	—	—	2–2	0–5	2–0	2–2	3–3
Manchester United U21	2–4	—	—	1–1	—	—	2–4	3–1	—	1–2	—	0–3	2–1	—	—	3–2	4–2	—	—	—	10–1	—	—	—	—	—
Middlesbrough U21	—	—	—	—	1–3	2–3	1–0	2–2	—	—	—	—	—	3–2	—	3–2[f]	—	—	—	—	4–1	—	1–2	0–1	—	3–2
Newcastle United U21	—	0–1[g]	—	—	1–7	—	—	1–0	1–3	0–2	—	1–2	0–4	—	—	—	—	1–1	—	5–3	—	—	—	3–2	—	—
Norwich City U21	—	—	4–0	—	3–2	—	—	—	3–3	—	—	—	—	—	2–3	—	—	2–2	—	0–2	—	—	3–4	2–1	0–2	3–4
Nottingham Forest U21	2–0	3–0	1–5	—	—	4–3	—	—	—	4–0	—	—	—	0–0	2–2	—	—	—	0–0[h]	—	—	0–5	—	—	—	2–2
Reading U21s	—	—	7–2	—	—	2–0	—	—	—	3–2	2–1	0–0	3–0	—	2–2	1–0	2–1	—	—	—	—	2–1	—	—	—	—
Southampton U21	—	4–2	—	—	—	4–0	2–1	—	—	—	—	0–3	—	3–6[i]	—	—	—	1–1	6–0	—	5–1	1–2	2–3	—	—	—
Stoke City U21	2–2	—	—	4–3	—	1–3	—	—	—	—	—	—	5–1	—	—	1–2	4–2	3–1	0–2	—	—	—	0–2	—	—	2–1
Sunderland U21	1–2	—	—	1–1	—	—	3–1	—	—	—	4–2[j]	2–1	—	5–5	1–2	2–3	2–0	—	—	—	—	—	2–4	—	—	—
Tottenham Hotspur U21	—	5–3	4–0	—	4–2	—	—	1–2	—	1–0	—	—	—	2–2[k]	—	4–1	—	—	2–2	—	—	—	—	—	1–1	5–1
West Bromwich Albion U21	3–0[l]	—	3–3	—	—	—	0–1	—	0–3	4–2	—	—	—	0–3	—	—	—	—	0–0	1–1	—	0–0	—	—	2–4	—
West Ham United U21	—	—	—	—	0–2	—	3–2	3–1	0–3	—	1–3	—	—	—	5–0	—	—	3–1	—	3–3	3–1	2–0	—	—	—	—
Wolverhampton Wanderers U21	2–1	—	1–2	1–1	—	3–2	—	—	2–3	2–0	—	—	—	—	—	2–2	—	—	—	2–1	—	1–2	—	3–0	—	—

Source: Premier League 2 Results
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:

1. Originally scheduled to be played on 1 December 2023, the Aston Villa match against Stoke City was postponed due to a frozen pitch.
2. Originally scheduled to be played on 9 February 2024 and then 29 March 2024, the Crystal Palace matches against Tottenham Hotspur were both postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
3. Originally scheduled to be played on 15 January 2024, the Leeds United match against Everton was postponed due to a frozen pitch.
4. The match between Leicester City and Crystal Palace was abandoned after 86 minutes due to an injury to Crystal Palace player Joe Sheridan. The Premier League confirmed that the result will stand.
5. On 3 November, the Leicester City match against Newcastle United was abandoned with the score at 2–2.
6. Originally scheduled to be played on 9 February 2024, the Middlesbrough match against Newcastle United was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
7. Originally scheduled to be played on 15 January 2024, the Newcastle United match against Aston Villa was postponed due to a frozen pitch.
8. Originally scheduled to be played on 9 February 2024, the Nottingham Forest match against Reading was postponed. The rescheduled game on 22 April 2024 was abandoned after an injury to Nottingham Forest player Ben Perry.
9. Originally scheduled to be played on 9 February 2024, the Southampton match against Manchester United was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
10. Originally scheduled to be played on 9 February 2024, the Sunderland match against Leicester City was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
11. Originally scheduled to be played on 2 December 2023, the Tottenham Hotspur match against Manchester United was postponed due to a frozen pitch.
12. Originally scheduled to be played on 1 December 2023, the West Bromwich Albion match against Arsenal was postponed due to a frozen pitch.

Elimination Playoffs

	Round of 16					Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Final
	1	Tottenham Hotspur U21s	4
	16	Aston Villa U21s	3
						1	Tottenham Hotspur U21s	3 (5)
						8	Liverpool U21s	3 (4)
	8	Liverpool U21s	3
	9	Crystal Palace U21s	2
											1	Tottenham Hotspur U21s	2
											4	Chelsea U21s	1
	5	Arsenal U21s	6
	12	Manchester United U21s	2
						5	Arsenal U21s	2
						4	Chelsea U21s	3
	4	Chelsea U21s	5
	13	Brighton & Hove Albion U21s	4
																1	Tottenham Hotspur U21s	3
																7	Sunderland U21s	1
	6	Reading U21s	2
	11	Middlesbrough U21s	0
						6	Reading U21s	3
						14	Nottingham Forest U21s	1
	3	Fulham U21s	0
	14	Nottingham Forest U21s	2
											6	Reading U21s	3
											7	Sunderland U21s	4
	7	Sunderland U21s	4
	10	Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s	1
						7	Sunderland U21s	3 (5)
						2	West Ham United U21s	3 (3)
	2	West Ham United U21s	4
	15	Blackburn Rovers U21s	1

Round of 16

Arsenal U21s	6–2	Manchester United U21s
Butler-Oyedeji 14', 42' Henry-Francis 27' Cozier-Duberry 30', 90+1' Nwaneri 54' (pen.)	Report	Mather 66' Biancheri 90+6'

3 May 2024

13:00 BST

Meadow Park, Borehamwood

Attendance: 610

Referee: Aaron Farmer

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Chelsea U21s	5–4 (a.e.t.)	Brighton & Hove Albion U21s
Moreira 22' Richards 41', 60' Morgan 105+2' Silcott-Duberry 116'	Report	Baker-Boaitey 34' Duffus 72', 105+4' Kavanagh 85'

3 May 2024

13:00 BST

Kingsmeadow, Kingston-Upon-Thames

Attendance: 389

Referee: Stephen Parkinson

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West Ham United U21s	4–1	Blackburn Rovers U21s
Moore 43' Powell 76' (o.g.) Earthy 79' Marshall 88'	Report	Batty 80'

3 May 2024

13:00 BST

Rush Green Stadium, Romford

Attendance: 196

Referee: Aji Ajibola

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Reading U21s	2–0	Middlesbrough U21s
Akande 68', 74'	Report

4 May 2024

12:00 BST

Select Car Leasing Stadium, Reading

Attendance: 841

Referee: Gary Parsons

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Liverpool U21s	3–2	Crystal Palace U21s
Gordon 57', 59' Nyoni 61'	Report	Mathurin 36' (pen.) Watson 44'

5 May 2024

13:00 BST

Liverpool Academy, Kirkby

Attendance: 178

Referee: Dean Watson

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Tottenham Hotspur U21s	4–3 (a.e.t.)	Aston Villa U21s
Santiago 71' Lankshear 75', 100' Kyerematen 90+1'	Report	Swinkels 32' Jimoh 83', 90+3'

6 May 2024

12:00 BST

Lamex Stadium, Stevenage

Attendance: 601

Referee: Robert Massey-Ellis

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Sunderland U21s	4–1	Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s
Middlemas 57' Samuel-Ogunsuyi 79' Watson 86' Tuterov 90+4'	Report	Fraser 45+2'

6 May 2024

14:00 BST

Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground, Hetton-le-Hole

Attendance: 534

Referee: Benjamin Wyatt

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Fulham U21s	0–2	Nottingham Forest U21s
	Report	Esapa Osong 17' Konaté 90+4'

6 May 2024

19:00 BST

Motspur Park, New Malden

Attendance: 116

Referee: Alan Dale

Quarterfinals

Arsenal U21s	2–3	Chelsea U21s
Lewis-Skelly 13' Butler-Oyedeji 55'	Report	Diego Moreira 45+2', 80', 90+5'

11 May 2024

13:00 BST

Meadow Park, Borehamwood^[3]

Attendance: 500

Referee: Paul Johnson

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Reading U21s	3–1	Nottingham Forest U21s
Wareham 8' (pen.) Clarke 33', 67'	Report	Esapa Osong 38'

11 May 2024

14:00 BST

Select Car Leasing Stadium, Reading^[4]

Attendance: 1,161

Referee: Jason Richardson

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Tottenham Hotspur U21s	3–3 (a.e.t.)	Liverpool U21s
Donley 26' Hall 36', 47'	Report	Koumas 11' Dorrington 72' (o.g.) Norris 82'
Penalties
John Lankshear Hall Abbott Soonsup-Bell	5–4[5]	Koumas Pilling Norris Davidson Morrison

12 May 2024

19:00 BST

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Tottenham^[6]

Attendance: 1,180

Referee: Ruebyn Ricardo

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Sunderland U21s	3–3 (a.e.t.)	West Ham United U21s
Taylor 84' Kelly 111' Watson 119'	Report	Kodua 41' Kelly 105+5' Marshall 117'
Penalties
Taylor Jones Kelly Middlemas Watson	5–3[7]	Orford Marshall Kelly Forson

13 May 2024

19:00 BST

Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground, Hetton-le-Hole^[8]

Attendance: 831

Referee: Aaron Bannister

Semifinals

Tottenham Hotspur U21s	2–1	Chelsea U21s
Lankshear 15' John 90+4'	Report	Washington 76'

19 May 2024

12:00 BST

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London^[9]

Attendance: 1,123^[10]

Referee: Richie Watkins

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Reading U21s	3–4 (a.e.t.)	Sunderland U21s
Wareham 25' Akande 75' Carson 78'	Report	Taylor 11', 33', 90+9' Samuel-Ogunsuyi 120+1'

20 May 2024

19:00 BST

Select Car Leasing Stadium, Reading^[11]

Attendance: 2,374

Referee: Andrew Humphries

Final

Tottenham Hotspur U21s	3–1	Sunderland U21s
Lankshear 39', 61' Abbott 90+4'	Report	Tutierov 90+7'

26 May 2024

15:00

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

Attendance: 4,182

Referee: Gareth Rhodes

Professional Development League

U21 Professional Development League

Season	2023–24
Champions	Sheffield United U21s (1st Title)
Matches played	313 (310 RS, 3 PO)
Goals scored	1,200 (3.83 per match) (1189 RS, 11 PO)
Top goalscorer	Daniel Adu-Adjei AFC Bournemouth U21s, Patrick Casey Charlton Athletic U21s (18 Goals each)
Biggest home win	Millwall U21s 7–0 Watford U21s (March 11, 2024), Queens Park Rangers U21s 7–0 Crewe Alexandra U21s (April 9, 2024)
Biggest away win	Ipswich Town U21s 1–8 Charlton Athletic U21s (February 13, 2024)
Highest scoring	Fleetwood Town U21s 4–6 Crewe Alexandra U21s (September 26, 2023), Charlton Athletic U21s 5–5 Cardiff City U21s (November 27, 2023), Ipswich Town U21s 7–3 Swansea City U21s (February 20, 2024)
Longest winning run	6 Matches Hull City U21s (26 March 2024 – 19 April 2024) Sheffield Wednesday U21s (4 March 2024 – 19 April 2024)
Longest unbeaten run	10 Matches Birmingham City U21s (16 October 2023 – 15 January 2024)
Longest winless run	14 Matches Colchester United U21s (28 August 2023 – 22 February 2024)
Longest losing run	11 Matches Colchester United U21s (28 August 2023 – 26 January 2024)
← 2022–23 2024–25 →

The Professional Development League 2 is Under-21 football's second tier, designed for those academies with Category 2 status. The league is split regionally into north and south divisions, with each team facing opponents in their own region twice both home and away and opponents in the other region once resulting in 30 games played for the North Division, while the south division played 29 games. The sides finishing in the top two positions in both regions at the end of the season will progress to a knockout stage to determine the overall league champion. Millwall are the defending champions.

21 Teams competed in the league this season, one more team than the previous season. Reading U21s regained Category One status in the summer leaving the league after one solitary season.^[12] Meanwhile, AFC Bournemouth U21s,^[13] and Fleetwood Town U21s^[14] join the league for the very first time as both Academies reaches Category Two status for the 2023-24 season.

Tables

North Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Sheffield United U21s	30	19	6	5	83	34	+49	63	Qualification for Knock-out stage
2	Birmingham City U21s	30	15	10	5	59	36	+23	55
3	Sheffield Wednesday U21s	30	16	6	8	58	34	+24	54
4	Barnsley U21s	30	17	3	10	65	44	+21	54
5	Hull City U21s	30	14	3	13	59	63	−4	45
6	Burnley U21s	30	12	6	12	53	57	−4	42
7	Fleetwood Town U21s	30	13	3	14	48	58	−10	42
8	Peterborough United U21s	30	7	6	17	47	73	−26	27
9	Wigan Athletic U21s	30	7	5	18	44	66	−22	26
10	Coventry City U21s	30	7	5	18	41	67	−26	26
11	Crewe Alexandra U21s	30	5	4	21	37	90	−53	19

Source: Professional Development League table

South Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Millwall U21s	29	17	8	4	80	45	+35	59	Qualification for Knock-out stage
2	Swansea City U21s	29	16	3	10	72	49	+23	51
3	AFC Bournemouth U21s	29	16	3	10	60	45	+15	51
4	Queens Park Rangers U21s	29	14	7	8	66	43	+23	49
5	Ipswich Town U21s	29	14	4	11	63	59	+4	46
6	Watford U21s	29	10	7	12	45	66	−21	37
7	Bristol City U21s	29	10	5	14	43	63	−20	35
8	Charlton Athletic U21s	29	9	4	16	63	64	−1	31
9	Cardiff City U21s	29	7	10	12	55	66	−11	31
10	Colchester United U21s	29	9	4	16	48	67	−19	31

Source: Professional Development League table

Knock-out stage

Semi-finals

Millwall U21s	1–2 (a.e.t.)	Birmingham City U21s
Abdulmalik[15] 22'	Report	Dixon[16] 45', 115'

17 May 2024

19:00

The Den, Bermondsey

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Sheffield United U21s	4–2	Swansea City U21s
Marsh 11' Tinsdale 34' Aston 48' Tahir 61'	Report	Nzingo 43' Woodward 83'

20 May 2024

19:00

Brammall Lane, Sheffield

Professional Development League National Final

Sheffield United U21s	2–0	Birmingham City U21s
Hampson 5' Aston 76'

24 May 2024

19:00

Brammall Lane, Sheffield

Attendance: 1,500

Referee: Niall Smith

See also

• 2023–24 in English football