Duo signed first professional contracts earlier this week...
Academy boss Neil Woods has expressed his delight for talented youngsters Jordon Sangha and Maz Kouhyar after the pair signed their first professional contracts with Walsall earlier this week.The promising duo have put pen-to-paper on a one-year deal with a further year’s option, having impressed during the club’s two-year scholarship programme.
And Woods, who has overseen both players' development, says their contracts are well deserved.
“I’m delighted for them both,” he said.
“They’ve earned it, not just for the two years they’ve been apprentices, but over the period they’ve been in the academy.
“Their progression has been really pleasing and their attitudes to all aspects of the programme has been outstanding.
“They fully deserve it. It is a just reward for all the work they’ve put in.
“It gets tough now as they’ve achieved one status and now they’ve got to achieve another one. They need to keep progressing but they are grounded lads with big desires and big hearts.
“With the attitudes they’ve got, I’m sure they can do it.”
On Jordon Sangha…
“He’s very mobile, passes the ball very well and has a good work ethic,” said Woods.
“I can’t remember Jordon missing a game, even as a first year. He controls games well, sees good pictures and moves the ball very quickly.
"He’s very reliable with the ball and he’s working on adding more aggression to his game – it’s the part he needs to keep working on. But he’s a good passer and a good link of the game.”
On Maz Kouhyar...
“Maz is different to Jordon,” Woods added.
“Maz is individual skill, he manipulates the ball well, retains the ball and he’s clever in tight areas.
"He’s creative, can play up front, off the front man and in midfield so he can play in a variety of positions. He’s an exciting player.”
So what now for the rest of the season?
“The plan until the end of the season is for them to train with the first-team on Tuesdays and Wednesday as often as possible,” commented Woods.
“They’ll come and do their match preparation with the youth team on Friday and play with the youth team on Saturday.
“They’ll finish off what they’ve started and will also get the experience of where they are going to be next year.”