This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Pre-season preparations are underway right across the English Football League.
No matter what the club, with every summer that arrives comes a new opportunity for young players to stake a claim for involvement, or more involvement, in the first team set-up.
After their relegation to League One that is certainly the case at Peterborough United, although one player, who has already racked up more than 50 Posh appearances, will be hoping he can have more of an impact.
That is 19-year-old Ricky-Jade Jones - a player with huge potential, but that has struggled with injuries in recent seasons.
Last campaign, for example, he made just 18 Championship appearances. The season prior in League One - just 15.
With that in mind, we asked FLW's Posh fan pundit Alex Batt for his thoughts on whether or not Jones was ready to play a big role for Peterborough this upcoming season.
"Fitness depending, I think he's ready to go." Alex told FLW.
"He's obviously had a lot of injury problems in the last few seasons which have really stunted his growth and development. But when he was playing in the Championship, he looked like a genuinely quite frightening option up front.
"His pace is ridiculous. He's pretty strong for his age and for his frame as well. Glimpses against Man City in the FA Cup spring to mind where he caused them problems.
"So if he can do that regularly in League 1, he'll be an absolute asset for us."
Alex continued: "Will he play every game? I don't think so."
"When you've got Jack Marriott Jonson Clark-Harris, then you've got an abundance of wide men as well - but I think it's a big season for him.
"He's got to stay fit and hopefully have good season. But most importantly, he's got to stay fit."
The Verdict
Ricky-Jade Jones is still just 19-years-old, we have to remember that.
As he matures, he will hope the injury problems that have plagued him in recent seasons are a thing of the past.
If he can stay fit, he is clearly a talented player, and one that can certainly do well at League One level.
As our fan pundit states though, it is all about staying fit and getting on the pitch for Jones this year.
If he can do that, the performances will come.