Sheffield United, Barnsley, Derby and Stoke scouted 15-year-old Dimitri Georgio at our Sheffield event back in February 2020.

We spoke with Dimitri’s father Chris and asked him about his son’s football history. He explained: “Dimitri grew up playing primarily futsal from the age of five as well as grassroots football on a Sunday.”

“He’s played futsal abroad quite a few times. He’s travelled Spain, playing against Barcelona’s U16’s and other Spanish clubs.”

Dimitri was a promising futsal player, but felt a more of a calling to football, Chris told us: “He recently decided that he wanted to give up futsal and focus on his football.”

“It was a shame as he was on his way to the England squad but he really wanted to play 11-a-side and nothing else.” He added.

After his decision to focus solely on football, Dimitri and Chris explored their options to get noticed in the football world.

We asked Chris why he chose to bring Dimitri to our event, he explained: “The reason I liked the idea of your trials was because I think getting scouted in football is not always about talent.”

“I feel like luck does play a part, as you’re a needle in a haystack at the end of the day and getting noticed is really difficult, but your event really puts players on a in the spotlight.”

Dimitri clearly impressed at our Sheffield event, his father said: “From your February trial he was scouted by Sheffield United, Barnsley, Derby and Stoke.”

“Sheffield were keen and got Dimitri in on a trial match with 21 other trialists. It was difficult as all players were trying to show what they had individually rather than playing as a team so Dimitri probably didn’t play to his usual standard.”

“Unfortunately things didn’t go any further with Sheffield United.”

As Well as Sheffield United, Barnsley were also keen to bring Dimitri in for a trial, but with the Covid-19 pandemic, this turned out to be a lot tougher than originally thought. Chris told us: “Because of lockdown it proved difficult to bring Dimitri in on trial. However, I’ve been in regular contact with Keith Briggs the scout who said to just give him a call once a month and he will arrange something when he can.”

As a player looking to try and make it in the game, we asked Chris what advice Dimitri would have for players in a similar position. He told us: “My advice is just keep doing what you’re doing. Work hard and don’t be embarrassed to make a real go of it.”

UK Football Trials would like to congratulate Dimitri and hope he can go in with Barnsley in the near future. We will stay in contact with both Dimitri and his father and post updates as they come in.