Bola Okewoye has learned a lot from his time with the first-team during preparations for the 2024/25 campaign.
Okewoye has featured in two first-team pre-season friendlies so far, including a 60-minute run-out against Oldham Athletic.
He returned to the U18s on Wednesday night, coming off the bench at half-time to score in a 4-1 win against Lincoln United.
He said: “It’s been good to be with the first team and it’s been helping me out, especially in games like Lincoln United against more senior players.”
Okewoye spent time training with the first team throughout the 23/24 season and was named on the bench multiple times in Sky Bet League One fixtures before gaining more experience with Michael Skubala’s side in pre-season.
He added: “Pre-season has been good, with lots of testing and hard work but we’ve been building.
“I’m picking up a lot, especially off the ball with my work ethic and trying to retain the ball quicker and to play quicker as well.
“The step up is really hard, so I’ve been working on getting used to that, and getting up to speed with the intensity.”