This time last year, as Crystal Palace had seen one academy product sold for £50million and another valued at £80million, a damning verdict was cast down on the Eagles previously productive youth sides.
After Aaron Wan-Bissaka had burst onto the scene and, with just one full season at Selhurst Park under his belt, joined Manchester United for a fee almost double that ever played for a Palace player, some were scratching their head about who was next.
Richard Shaw, then U23s manager, offered a merciless evaluation of his ranks when speaking to Standard Sport in September 2019.
"The harsh reality is, the guys that are here now are not going to make it at Crystal Palace,” he said. “They are not going to make it in the Premier League. It is tough, it is hard. They might make it in League One, Two or the National League.”
Shaw’s comments caused quite a stir and, just over a month later, the former Eagles defender had left to “pursue other opportunities”. He may well have been right, there have been few promoted to the senior side in the 12 months since despite the injury struggles manager Roy Hodgson suffered over the past season.
One player, however, is looking to defy Shaw’s assessment. Cast into Hodgson’s starting XI for the final two games of the season following injury to Patrick van Aanholt, Tyrick Mitchell will begin the season as Palace’s first choice left-back, desperate to emulate the emergence of Wan-Bissaka from two years previous.
Two solid but unremarkable showings against Wolves and Tottenham in the final games of last season proved a good foundation and perhaps convinced Hodgson there was no need to dip into the transfer market for a left-sided full-back, something he had been intent on since last summer.
Reaching the heights of Wan-Bissaka is a big target, and something that will take time and patience - but it took injury and a spot of luck for the now Manchester United man to get his chance in south London and keep Joel Ward out of the side, and now Mitchell will be set on giving Van Aanholt and Hodgson exactly the same sort of problem.
He has featured in all three of Palace’s pre-season friendlies, including starting in Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Millwall and is building well. Mitchell is solid at the back - still the first priority for all full-backs, let alone one in a Hodgson side, and is growing in confidence when in possession.
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The 21-year-old is calm and composed when penned in, prepared to take his time and play the brave, progressive ball out instead of simply hooking clear.
Such an approach can always result in a loss of possession, but Mitchell is not deterred by mistakes and, with a touch of coaching and encouragement looks like he could be a force going forward too. Such confidence, you would hope, will develop over a run of games.
There are areas in need of improvement, as there are with all players of his age. The full-back will need to fill out and gain some strength if he is to contest and out-muscle Premier League wingers on a regular basis, though again - that side of his game will develop with time and a few trips to the gym.
His solidity will be what has pleased Hodgson best. It hasn’t been too often that the Eagles boss has granted a chance to an academy player in his time at the helm, but the former England manager certainly considers Mitchell a reliable option - especially given that Jeffrey Schlupp and Jairo Riedewald, two who have been drafted in at left-back in the past - were starting in their more natural positions against Gary Rowett’s side.
By the time Van Aanholt returns from his shoulder injury, Hodgson will hope the Dutchman faces a real fight on his hands to get back in the side at Selhurst Park.
Whether or not Mitchell will prove Shaw wrong will take time to establish, but with another academy graduate set to start the season in the starting XI – and the £20million development at the youngster’s training ground continuing apace - the Palace production line certainly is not drying up yet.