YORK City’s youth team might still be waiting for their first win of 2015/16 but arguably the department’s biggest result of the season will be Ben Godfrey’s six-figure sale to Norwich.

The unavailability of their skipper Godfrey, due to his first-team commitments at Bootham Crescent, has taken its toll on the under-18s’ progress this term.

Coach Steve Torpey reasoned, though, that the proceeds raised from Godfrey’s departure this week means the system is fulfilling its first requirement – to develop and produce players who will be of benefit to the club’s first team or become valuable assets when suitors come along to prise them away from Bootham Crescent with a sizeable transfer fee.

West Brom, Middlesbrough, Hull City, Cardiff and Barnsley were also alerted to Godfrey’s talents as he made rapid progress with the Minstermen and, on the balance between getting results on the pitch and bringing welcome funds into the club, Torpey said: “We played Bradford last week and lost 1-0 but were very unfortunate not to get something out of it.

“We missed a penalty and had two or three good chances but, while results play a big part in everything, they’re not the be all and end all at youth level.

“Injury has cost the team two or three players this season and they’ve been to second-year scholars. Ben has also been with the first team and it has a massive impact on results when you lose those types of players and they’re also missed in and around the building.

“But, if we can produce and sell a player for a six-figure sum every season or get one or two in the first team, then that’s a case of job done. Everyone wants to win and I do as much as anybody but, most importantly, we want to produce more local talent because it’s definitely out there.”

Torpey also pointed out that the club’s part-time coaches merit recognition for their roles in the success story of ex-Archbishop Holgate pupil Godfrey.

“We signed Ben back from Middlesbrough for the under 15s when I was academy manager and he’s a shining example of the good work the academy staff put in to bring him on,” the ex-Scunthorpe and Bristol City striker explained. “Sometimes the youth team receive the plaudits and, later, the first-team staff, but it all starts a long time before that point.

“Ben was with us at under-12 level too and we have got some great academy coaches at the club.”

Having witnessed Godfrey blossom at Bootham Crescent, Torpey now reckons the 18-year-old midfielder has the potential to make a success of his transfer to Carrow Road, adding: “Ben has a great attitude first and foremost and he’s willing to learn.

“He takes on board information and is a good size. I had been out of the building for six months and, when I came back, he had shot up a few inches and I was quite shocked.

“The way the game is going, he’s what clubs are looking for physically while, technically, he’s still learning the game.

“He’s by no means the finished article, as Ben would admit himself, but if he keeps on the right track, stays level-headed and harnesses his ability, there’s no reason why he can’t do really well at Norwich and go on to have a good career.”

While Godfrey has made the leap from League Two scholar to top-flight professional, Torpey went on to stress that there is still an opportunity for the second-year apprentices that he has left behind to earn full-time terms with City.

“No decisions have been made yet and the lads have got to knuckle down and keep working hard,” he explained. “They are 18 months into their two-year scholarships now and it goes fast, so they’ve got between now and the end of the season to impress (academy manager) Andy (McMillan), myself and the first-team management.”

Torpey only returned to the club he had served as a coach from 2008 three weeks ago, after previous boss and former Scunthorpe team-mate Russ Wilcox decided a change was necessary and he was replaced as assistant manager by John Schofield last summer.

The Islington-born 45-year-old was, therefore, delighted to receive a shock call from chairman Jason McGill after Richard Cresswell and Jonathan Greening left the club’s coaching team last month.

“I was with the club for seven years and missed it whilst I was away,” Torpey admitted. “I had six months not doing a great deal after leaving as assistant manager but, six weeks before I came back, I was doing a bit of coaching for Leeds United under 14s and scouting for Motherwell, where Martin Foyle is now head of recruitment.

“I was taking in under-21 games, as well as matches in League One, Two and the Conference, so that was good to keep my eye in, but I missed the full-time, day-to-day stuff with the guys and it’s great to be back. My time with York is probably the longest I’ve spent at any club and it has become my club – most definitely.

“Even after I left in disappointing circumstances that I don’t want to say much about, I came back to watch some games and wanted them to win. There was never any ill feeling from me towards the club and I was rooting for them to string a run of results together.

“I was just going to Leeds when the chairman phoned me and asked me how I would feel about coming back. It was a surprise and I had to think about it and discuss things with my wife.

“But I had a meeting with the board the following day and, less than 24 hours later, I was back to work. That’s what it’s like in football – everything can change with just one phone call.”

Having been promoted to the senior set-up under Nigel Worthington in March 2013 until his departure at the end of last season, Torpey also has no objection to his return in a development role.

“Coming back as a youth-team coach is not an issue at all,” he insisted. “I enjoyed working with the first team, but I enjoy working with the kids too.

“The job keeps changing and there’s a bit more admin involved but I was doing that before I moved up to the assistant job. I’ve also told the manager if I can help by watching any games for him, then I’m happy to do that, but he seems to have everything covered in that respect anyway.”

Torpey is now looking forward to complementing the work of academy chief and club legend McMillan, saying: “I used to work with Andy at Hull when I coached the under 16s and he was doing the under 15s, so we know each other quite well.

“He’s done a great job meeting all the EPPP criteria to ensure we kept category three status and we’ve got to build on that by getting some more players through to the first team.”