Southampton Football Club have taken 12-year-old Cornishman Ben Wodskou on trial after scouting him at our training and trials camp in August.

The midfielder, who plays for local side Truro City in Cornwall, was one of the stand out players at our camp this summer and caught the eye of Max Johnson, the Southampton scout who spent the week on site watching our players train daily.

Michael, Ben’s dad, revealed what happened behind the doors at Southampton.

“We got a phonecall from Max and he was keen for Ben to come in, so we arranged to travel up from Cornwall for a trial,” explained Michael.

He continued: “We didn’t know what to expect really but when we arrived the players did a 20-minute warm up and then were straight into games and I think Ben held his own.

“It was short, sharp and off you go – there were 22 trialists all playing in games and when you see that level you get an idea of where you need to be to make it.”

The trial for Southampton is the start of a busy period for Ben, who also has trials coming up for Cornwall u13’s and the South West ISFA in the next few weeks.

But it’s the very fact that Ben has ‘reached his ceiling’ in Cornwall which encouraged him to attend our camp, Michael explained.

“There’s no professional clubs in Cornwall and he’s reached his ceiling down here really," said Michael.

“He’s always played two years up for St Ives but has recently moved to Truro City, and there was some interest from Plymouth Argyle last year but the opportunities here are limited so we started looking at different options.”

Michael added: “ The UK Football Trials Camp caught my attention and it was well run and very professional. He loved it and it was a great life experience.”

After the trial, we caught up with Max from Southampton, who revealed exactly what made Ben stand out.

“Ben is very good technically – he has a good range of passing and can be very creative,” said Max.

“He reads the game well and has very good positional sense. Ben is a great leader and a good lad to have around.”

UK Football Trials Director Harry Price said "Ben was outstanding at our 5 day training and trial camp. He had a superb attitude, mixed well with all the players right from the start and was a leader in his group. His positive influence on the group was noticed, he is an excellent athlete and had great effectiveness in the end of session games and on the trial day. His physical and mental attributes are excellent and he really is an exctiting player who would bring a huge amount to any sporting environment. Well done Ben, best of luck on your journey and we look forward to seeing your football development."