Midfielder Signs for Salford Academy & Featured on Sky Sports News
Salford City have signed 16-year-old Simeon Burrows after scouting him from a UK Football Trials event earlier this year.
Simeon attended a signing ceremony which was filmed by Sky Sports at the club earlier this week where he, along with 20 other players his age, put pen to paper and signed a two-year-scholarship with the club’s new academy programme, aptly named ‘Academy 92’.
Academy92, launched by the club’s owners Gary and Phillip Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt, is principally designed to feed talent into the Salford City first-team but the first cohort of players will spend a day-and-a-half a week at Trafford College studying a course that lasts for two years.
Melissa, Simeon’s mum, said: “We’ve known this has been coming for a few weeks so he’s over the moon to get it all signed and official.
“Simeon signed the forms at the ceremony this week where the college spoke about what they will be offering to the players and Gary Neville said a few words too.”
The club backed by the ‘Class of 92’ weren’t the only ones to show an interest in the young Bermudian, Simeon also had trials with two other clubs from the Football League and Premier League, which makes the signing even more of a coup for the National League side.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, Ryan Giggs explained: "What we're trying to do is claw back that character building we feel a lot of young players don't get any more.
"We want to claw it back and give them that character building first and then show us what you can do second."
One of the key factors in his decision appears to be the personal touch he received from Salford City - greeting him on his arrival for his trial were none other than former Manchester United legends and now Salford City owner’s Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and brothers Gary and Phillip Neville.
Melissa revealed: “There were about 40 or 50 boys there and in the morning they went through the plans for the day before going into a few drills and then some matches.
“All the old Man United lot were there watching with the Head of Recruitment, Chris Casper, and they all spoke to Simeon. They told him of their visions for the club and the academy and he found it very helpful, it was an amazing experience.”
Melissa added: “He was a bit nervous before going in because he broke his wrist in a Sunday league game not long before the trial but he played with a cast on and I think they picked up on the fact he played through it.”
The conversation with Giggs and co. probably flowed a bit easier when they discovered that Simeon spent last season training with a Manchester United Development squad, and has previously had trials with West Ham.
Another feather in the youngster’s cap will be several appearances for the Bermudian National Team, including an impressive run to the CONCACAF Cup semi-finals during which they played against teams such as Mexico and Dubai.
The modern-day national team player has to as dedicated off the pitch as he is on it, and Simeon is no exception spending three to four days a week in the gym, on top of regular runs and his football training.
Speaking about the UK Football Trial, Melissa said: “He loved it, it’s a great opportunity to play in front of scouts and he’s had many options as a result. He even made some new friends as well!”
Everyone at UK Football Trials would like to congratulate Simeon on this fantastic news and wish him every success during his next two seasons at Salford City.