West Ham have taken 16-year-old Oliver Soendegaard on trial after scouting him at our event in August.

A scout from the hammers, who currently sit 17th in the table, attended our trial in West London last month and wasted no time in inviting Oliver, who plays on the wing, in for a trial at the club’s training ground.

Oliver spent last Friday night training with the ‘Second Chance’ programme, for players who have been released from category one or two clubs and are being given another opportunity with West Ham.

“We did some drills and a small sided session so the coaches could see how good we were in different areas,” Oliver explained.

“Then I was invited to another session where we did 11v11 which was great, it allowed them to see us in other areas and show what we can do on a full pitch.”

In total Oliver spent around five hours at the training ground working with players from 16-18 years old, all the while just yards away from West Ham u23’s.

“The coaching was very good,” revealed Oliver, “I’ve never been to a trial like this before so I didn’t know what to expect, but there was a bit of banter and a nice atmosphere and some very good players.”

Oliver’s trial with West Ham represents a huge jump for the young winger, who moved here from Denmark this summer after finishing his education back home.

He revealed: “In Denmark I was playing amateur football for a club with a great youth programme and links to bigger, professional clubs, but I decided to come to England to try to make it as a professional footballer.

“West Ham is a completely new level for me, the pitches are absolutely amazing, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

For now West Ham have told Oliver that they would like him to come back to more sessions in the future and he remains hopeful of securing something in England full time with the help of UK Football Trials.

“The coaches there know what they’re talking about and I really learnt a lot from them,” said Oliver.

“I got an insight into what I have to do and I arrived at the trial alone but all the players there have the same ambitions as you which is great.”