Following a trial with Chelsea after being scouted from our five-day camp, attacking midfielder Bjorn Marwa, 13, has now signed with the Premier League side.

We spoke to Bjorn about his football history, where he explained: “So firstly, I lived in Dubai, and I played for Arsenal. Every summer we would come back to England and I trialled with Arsenal for two weeks and then Brighton the following year but I was unable to carry on because I lived in Dubai.”

“A couple years later, we moved back to England, and I had a trial at Crystal Palace but I don't think I did that well in it as they didn't sign me.”

“So then lockdown came and I think that was really good for me, because I got loads of training time in and trained a lot which helped me.”

Moving on, we asked Bjorn why he chose to attend our event, and whether it lived up to his expectation. He told us: “I chose it because it said that loads of scouts came and I was like, whoa, this can be a big chance for me a big opportunity to get scouted by a club.”

“It exceeded my expectation because I expected like, okay food, okay training, but when I went there it was really, really good. Like great facilities, great training, great coaching and yeah, it was really fun as well. Everyone was really nice.”

After learning he had been scouted by Chelsea, Bjorn explained how he felt: “I felt so happy. And I felt like, wow, I have to take this opportunity and I have to try my best.”

Once he had arrived at Cobham for his trial, Bjorn described his first experience: “They were very nice, like very professional and the coaching was really high and really good. All the boys were super nice.”

Bjorn continued to perform and has now gone on to sign for the Chelsea’s academy! He told us: “When I was told they wanted to sign me I was so happy. It was just before training and I was just over the moon. I was so happy.”

He continued to discuss the standard of football and how he feels he is performing too, stating: “The standard is high. The tempo of the game is really fast and the players are very good. We can bop the ball. We can play it long if we have to, like we play the game ahead, in front of us.”

“I feel really relaxed, more relaxed than when I was on trial. I think I've been performing really well. I've been winning the ball a lot, I've been getting the ball and I've been playing through balls. Also, at the moment we're on a winning streak. We've won five or six games in a row so far.”

As a player who went from playing grassroots to signing for one of the best academies in the country, we asked Bjorn what advice he has for other players. He told us: “I think what they should do is train hard and keep their mind to it.”

“Really work as much as you can and also know their body; so when to rest, when to train, when you've got to do this or that and then they should watch football as well.”

“Watch some football skills, amazing passes, players who plays in their position and then go to your club training, go to your games, and you have to play your best because you never know who's watching.”

UK Football Trials would like to congratulate Bjorn and wish him the best of luck with Chelsea. He used his time during lockdown wisely and has proved that hard work and dedication is key to success in football.