Stockport County have to learn this lesson and react after Foden and Mainoo rise to Euro 2024: View | OneFootball

Two Stopfordians in England's Euro 2024 setup will serve as a strong reminder to the Hatters

England commenced their Euro 2024 campaign with two Stopfordians in their ranks, but neither man had had any run-ins with the Stockport County youth system.

Kobbie Mainoo and Phil Foden, of Manchester United and Manchester City respectively, both grew up in close proximity to Edgeley Park. In Mainoo's case, it was a few miles. In Foden's case, a few yards.

They were both developing and emerging in youth football just as the Hatters were turning a corner after years of financial issues, meaning the club likely didn't have the facilities to house such talents at the time, but their inclusion for England will serve as strong motivation to ensure a similar scenario is much less likely in the future.

Interviews with owner Mark Stott and director of football Simon Wilson suggest that plans are in place to develop the Fodens and Mainoos of tomorrow in their hometown, rather than them feeling the need to travel to the nearby Premier League elites.

Mainoo, unknowingly at the time, began his journey to Premier League football at the age of just five, turning out for his local team, Cheadle & Gatley. It was here, just over three miles away from Edgeley Park, that Mainoo first caught the attention of football coaches, sending him to Failsworth Dynamoes for a tougher challenge before he ended up in the United setup aged nine.

The story with Foden is perhaps even more frustrating from the Hatters' perspective. He grew up in Edgeley, the suburb of Stockport from which Edgeley Park derives its name, just streets away from the stadium. By the time he began his secondary education at Stockport Academy, just down the road, it was too late for County; he was already making waves in City's youth system.

It is rare that two generational talents grow up just a few miles, and years, apart from each other. Their rapid rise to the elite level perhaps suggests that the Hatters never stood a chance of holding on to either for any length of time, but the fact that both of their stories completely omit any mention of their closest football club will be the source of some reflection for the Hatters. They will not want a repeat of this story if they can avoid it.

The Hatters are now building a reputation to address this issue

Being in the vicinity of two footballing behemoths in City and United will always make this battle difficult, but recent noise from Stott and Wilson suggests that the club do intend to at least show up to the fight next time around, and plans are in place to ensure they arrive as strong as possible.

The establishment of an 'Emerging Talent' pathway, investment to get the academy facilities to category three status (with auditors likening the standard to that of a Premier League club) and moving elements of the youth setup to the club's senior Carrington training base to foster greater integration with the first team, all add together to create an enticing offer to the future stars and their parents.

There is still every chance that the hottest prospects will be poached from the Hatters' setup from an early age, but if they can demonstrate clear and fast routes to first-team professional football in whichever league the club finds itself in, then they stand a good chance of keeping hold of some top talents.

The rewards could be endless

It's a process that may take years to bear fruit, but when it does it will provide a multitude of benefits that will provide for the club in both the short and long-term.

Harnessing great young players and providing them with the platform to demonstrate their skill will provide an instant boost to the first-team squad, with Wilson clear that offering such opportunities will be high on the club's agenda in the coming years.

But, as seen with Jarrad Branthwaite at Carlisle United, the most talented are sure to be quickly poached by teams at the top of the pyramid.

The suggestion seems to be that County are completely open to this, and they should be, as while it hurts to see an academy prospect move on so quickly, it creates a path to follow for the next batch of inductees and will make the County academy evermore attractive to the stars of tomorrow.

This process also won't harm the club's bank balance either, through the initial transfer fee and any sell-on clause and performance-based add-ons in any deal made, which could then be used to reinvest back into the squad, creating a sustainable model as County look to move ever higher, competing with bigger and bigger clubs.

As the masses watch on at Euro 2024, seeing two Stopfordians turn out for England, as part of a squad among the favourites to lift the country's first major silverware since 1966, will be worthy of note at Edgeley Park.

It seems the lessons have already been learned by Stott and Wilson, but it provides a handy illustration of why their plans are so valuable.

Euro 2024 shows that the local talent pool is there. Work is now underway to ensure they find their way to the Hatters, and that no more Fodens and Mainoos are allowed to slip through the club's fingers.