We'll rival the best in Premier League: Exclusive interview with Wolves chairman, Steve Morgan

Seven years into his tenure the Wolves chairman is still looking forward, not back.

And youth development, investing in youngsters and laying foundations that he hopes will bear fruit for decades to come is at the heart of everything he's working for.

The first part of the club's much-vaunted £7m training academy opens in the coming weeks and Morgan hopes it will put Wolves at the forefront of youth development.

Able to compete with Premier League clubs, attract the country's most promising young stars and smoothing their path into first-team football is his vision.

"I'm a firm believer in giving youth a chance," he said.

"Look at the money we're spending on the academy. The youth of tomorrow is what it's all about."

Morgan spoke to the Express & Star at the launch of his £6m youth centre, being built on Worcester Street in the city centre.

It, like the Compton Park academy, will look to give local kids as young as eight a platform to express themselves, with the youth zone – called The Way – offering sport, music, dance and art activities.

There are stark similarities between the projects Morgan is spearheading – multi-million pound figures being spent on giving Wolverhampton's youngsters the best possible opportunities.

At Compton a state-of-the art indoor dome will be at the heart of the facility, with floodlit pitches, gyms, changing rooms and classrooms seeing both young and senior players treated equally.

The site will open in stages, with all work being completed by next summer.

Crucially it means Wolves will continue to have category one status, so they are on a level footing with clubs such as Manchester City and Chelsea.

And Morgan believes Wolves will be able to compete with the top clubs in the land.

He said: "We'll be on a par with most Premier League clubs.

"We've got category one status which is the highest possible status and I'm determined Wolves will be right at the forefront.

"The facilities are state-of-the-art. The investment in the academy is stage one and bringing the young players through to be the players of tomorrow is what it's all about. It's great to see so many youngsters in the team at the moment and we want to build on that."

There were five academy graduates in the matchday squad for Tuesday night's victory over Middlesbrough – Carl Ikeme, Ethan Ebanks-Landell, Danny Batth, Leon Clarke and Jonathan Flatt.

Several more – Aaron McCarey, Jack Price, Liam McAlinden, Zeli Ismail and Jake Cassidy – have featured for the first team and others like Eusebio Bancessi have been on the brink.

The hope is that if Wolves continue to climb the leagues and reach English football's top tier, they will still be able to produce youngsters good enough for the first team, in the way that Southampton have managed in their dramatic rise from League One to the top echelons of the Premier League, producing England internationals along the way.

Morgan's mantra is about giving Wolverhampton youngsters the best possible footing and, if they don't make it at Wolves, they can take their careers elsewhere, as the likes of Mark Davies, David Davis, Elliott Bennett and Sam Winnall have done.

"Scott Malone came on against us last week, one of our former youngsters, and how many times do we see that happen?" Morgan said.

"We have one of the highest numbers of existing players playing in the Football League than any other academy – not necessarily just for Wolves, but across the divisions.

"So it's not only about the Wolves players we produce, it's giving local youths a chance to play professional football in the future."