Wakefield AFC appoint former Manchester City player as new head of academy

Crooks, who has been in charge of Wakefield's U23s this season, has already had some involvement with the youth set-up, working alongside Pallett for the last 12 months and helping to grow the Wakefield AFC Academy.

The club would like to thank Shane for his tremendous efforts in getting the Academy to where it is today and wish him well in his future endeavors.

Director of Football, Chris Turner, said: “Shane has been a fantastic coach to our academy players over the short time that this club has existed.

"We are exceedingly grateful for his work and of his efforts to grow Wakefield AFC Academy over the past two years or so.

"We wish Shane every success in his future and warmly thank him for taking the Wakefield AFC Academy to the level that it now is."

Turner continued: "The Wakefield AFC Academy, however, will continue to be one of our key performance Indicators of success as we grow our club and the board will be seeking a number of appointments that will provide the club a local academy that we can all be proud of and one that serves the players, club and the city in the future.

"We are very pleased to inform you that, from immediate effect, Lee Crooks will be taking over responsibility for all coaching matters throughout the academy.

"Lee has been a strong and valued member of our team for the past year and, as most people know, has had a long professional football career with Manchester City, Barnsley and other clubs. We already know what Lee can bring to the club and we look forward to the results of this great appointment.

"We have identified a new U18s coach who will be joining the club in the coming days. He is a fully qualified UEFA A Licensed coach with experience in working with professional U18s players in the EFL. We hope to have more good news soon.“