With unparalleled behind-the-scenes access to academies at all levels, The Dream Factory takes a journey deep into the heart of youth football, revealing in gripping detail how home-grown Premier League stars such as Marcus Rashford and Trent Alexander-Arnold are created, and at what cost. Ryan Baldi introduces a rich array of characters behind talent production lines at several Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City, zooming in on the stories of Alexander-Arnold's unique development, how Rashford's sense of social responsibility was nurtured, and how Phil Foden has become a beacon to City's young hopefuls. The harsh realities of life away from the glamourous, big-budget academies are also examined. Learn how the methods that shaped Lionel Messi inform a third-tier club's approach. Discover the ambitious non-league side aiming to become a local football and educational hub. Wander through Bury's crumbling facilities in the final months before the club's collapse and learn of the passion the staff poured into their efforts to develop the best young people, not just footballers, on meagre means. The Dream Factory provides the most intricate, intimate and all-encompassing insight yet into the machine that manufactures these stars, and everything it spits out in the process.
"'A forensic insight into how our football academies operate. Every angle covered by a splendid author'"
The Athletic
"'What a book: Ryan Baldi has the reader living the blood, sweat, tears, triumph and despair of chasing the ultimate dream of making it'"
The Guardian
"'An in-depth look at the youth game, in conversation with the people who know it best. Baldi has gone deeper than anyone before to understand what really goes on inside academies'"
