16-year-old centre forward Tyler Dunphy impressed at our West London event back in May and was subsequently scouted by Championship club Reading!

We spoke with Tyler to get a better understanding of his footballing background and to understand why he chose to attend our event and how his trial with Reading went.

First of all Tyler, congratulations on your brilliant trial with UK Football Trials and being scouted by Reading! You are obviously a talented player, could you please tell us your football history?

“I played for Tramore AFC, Piltown FC, Ferrybank FC, Wexford youths and Aldershot Town. At Piltown FC I won the league, I have also won a school cup final, been top goal scorer three years in a row and been nominated for goal of the season twice.”

That’s incredible Tyler! You were clearly performing very well for your grassroots team! So what was the reason you decided to come to our trial? 

“I feel that the soccer over here in England is of a higher standard than clubs are in Ireland. You have a great opportunity to get scouted at these events. The trial I attended at UK Football Trials really helped me as player and helped me to develop and get more opportunities. These trials really helped me understand what I need to be at as a player.”

So how have you found your trial with Reading and what was the standard of the players like?

“The training at Reading’s academy was outstanding. It’s like nothing I’ve ever been at, the training really showed the standards of great players and where you need to be at as a player to make it as a professional.”

That’s fantastic Tyler! You sound like you have learned a lot from your time with Reading! How has it been left? Have you received any feedback or has any decisions been made?

“When I attended training at Reading it was excellent. At the end of my 1 week trial I was given a mark out of 10 to get a spot on the team you had to get a score of 7, minimum, to make the team and I was given a grade of 6, so unfortunately I did not make the team.”

We’re sorry to hear that you just missed out Tyler, you should still feel extremely proud of what you have achieved though.

What advice would you give to other players like you who are looking to take that extra step to progress into the pro game?

“My advice to players who want to make it as a professional would be to never give up, no matter how tough times will get, to keep training hard. Another excellent option which is opening for players is to attend UK Football Trails which hold great opportunities if you are good enough.”

Once again, everyone at UK Football Trials would like to firstly congratulate you Tyler on your great success at both our trial and with Reading, and secondly, we would like to wish you the best of luck in the future.