Australian midfielder Dylan Peticuenot spent several weeks training with Stoke City after they scouted him from our event.

Dylan, 14, moved to England last year having previously played to the highest level in his home country of Australia, the NPL1.

In October 2018, Dylan, who plays a holding midfielder, attended two of our events in Manchester – even though he only turned 14 on the day of the trial, Dylan was selected to play up with the 15-17 year-olds.

Within a couple of weeks he was training alongside Stoke City’s academy players.

We spoke to Dylan while he was training with the Championship side: “I wasn’t expecting it to be honest,” he said.

“I’ve only been here for four weeks so it’s quite early for something like this to happen, but I’m very happy and excited.

“The facilities are first class, the pitches, gym, they’ve got everything you could need. I’ve never been at a club like this before.”

He continued: “The players are amazing too, some of them are crazily good and the coaches are a lot better here than anything I’ve experienced before.”

Dylan revealed to us his journey from the moment he left UK Football Trials to where he is today. 

“The day after the UK Football Trial, the Head of Recruitment at Stoke’s academy sent me an email asking to see me play again,” Dylan explained.

“So they watched me and then invited me down to the academy for an 8-week-trial.”

“I began by training with the u14’s and played in a couple of matches as well.

Dylan continued: “The UK Football Trials were very good and it was setup like a pro club,” said Dylan.

“There were lots of different scouts there and a lot of exposure for players, it’s very well done.

“I feel I’ve improved since going, they give you lots of tips and areas to work on.”

Dylan has since returned to Australia where he will continue to pursue his dreams of being a professional footballer in the A League.