21 Under 21: Ryan Andrews (Watford)

Episode #10 | George Elek and Ali Maxwell list the most outstanding young players in the EFL.

21 Under 21 will be released every weekday at noon in June, with paid subscribers unlocking early access to all video content.

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“He’s quick and he’s got a really good engine, and I would profile Andrews as a bit of a flyer” — Ali Maxwell

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Ryan Andrews

Watford – Championship, 2023/24:

• Born: 26 August 2004

• Position: Right-back

• League appearances: 40

• League starts: 26

💡 A ray of light on Watford’s right

For a teenager in his first full season, who made his league debut only last April, that right there is a lot of appearances and a lot of starts. For a teenager at Watford, it’s borderline extraordinary. Since the Pozzo takeover in 2012, no academy player has made more than 55 league appearances for the club. Ryan Andrews has made 46.

So, it’s hard to know what lies in store at Watford for this talented teenager. Tom Cleverley’s appointment as head coach on a permanent basis (save your jokes), as well as Andrews’ contract being extended to 2028, gives us hope that he’ll continue to get chances. He hasn’t been linked too heavily with a move away, either. 

That’ll change with a good sophomore season. Speedy, dribbly, even a bit goalscoringy, Andrews has what a lot of top clubs want in a full-back (those who aren’t mucking about with inverting them, anyway). His 2024/25 campaign could be very interesting to watch.

📈 At a glance

Pizza charts informed by match data. Each chart rates a chosen player from 0-99 across different metrics (e.g. Dribbles) according to their “percentile rank”. A 75 score shows a player outperforming 75% of other players in the dataset. Each dataset is position-specific. Negative metrics are reversed. [Credit: Riley Roberts.]

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▶️ Watch: Episode 10