Adam Poliakov: A Different Path | OneFootball

Life as an academy footballer looks a little different for Brentford Under-18s player Adam Poliakov.

While his team-mates train and complete their education every day at Jersey Road, Poliakov's schooling takes place away from the training ground, joining Lydia Bedford’s squad on Thursdays and Fridays before a Saturday matchday.

While he has a different weekly schedule to his team-mates, Poliakov has not let it affect his performance, the midfielder developing strongly since signing for the club in December 2023.

This season, Poliakov has started in 14 of 16 games played, playing 1,289 of a possible 1,584 minutes across all competitions.

“I attend school every day and then I come in to train on Thursday and Friday, and play on Saturday. I usually do gym Monday and Tuesday like the rest of the boys,” said Poliakov.

“I love playing football but my parents wanted me to stay at school and finish my education. I’ve been able to balance my school and football well.”

Now in his second season in west London, Poliakov has continued to develop his game, the midfielder tallying two goals and an assist so far this campaign.

With the inclusion of a new group of first year scholars this season, he said he has taken on a leadership role as one of the more experienced players.

“It’s a great group of boys," he continued. "[There are] lots of players in different positions and we’re still improving on the pitch together. I feel like I’ve been able to lead those boys more as a second year.

“We started the season well and had a good pre-season, but injuries have held us back a little bit. With a lot of the boys starting to come back now, hopefully we can start climbing the table.

“My game has developed a lot through getting good minutes and I feel confident. I’ve played all over the midfield and learned to be more versatile.”

It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for Poliakov, who was previously part of Tottenham’s youth set-up in the under-16s, before not being offered a scholarship.

He said that disappointment drove him to continue to work on his game.

“I wanted to work even harder to keep getting better. At Brentford, I’ve been able to improve through getting good minutes and being surrounded by great people and team-mates,” explained Adam.

Looking to the future, Poliakov is eyeing a pro contract with Brentford come the end of this season, as well as national team duties.

“Hopefully I get a pro contract at Brentford. Another goal I have is to get called up for the Ukraine Under-18s this year,” explained Poliakov.

In the short term, Poliakov and his team-mates will prepare to face AFC Wimbledon on Friday evening at Wheatsheaf Park in the Professional Development League Cup (7pm kick-off).

Tickets for the clash are available here.