15-year-old winger Jesse attended our Midlands trial at Tamworth F.C in the February half-term holidays and impressed that much he was scouted by 3 clubs, Rotherham, Walsall F.C and West Bromwich Albion.

It was from this trial that Jesse’s parents were approached right away by the West Bromwich Albion scout wasting no time at all offering Jesse a trial period with the club which Jesse was excited about.

Since the age of 7 Jesse has been playing football and in the last 2 years has also been playing Midlands Junior Premier League (MJPL), which is the top tier junior league as well as Sundays for his grassroots team.

We asked Jesse what his experience was like when he attended his club trial at West Bromwich Albion, and he said it was amazing. He got to meet all the coaches at the club, met the academy players and was shown around the facilities before he was given his training and game schedule.

Jesse then went on to say the level of ability of the current academy players was higher than he expected, and the training sessions were more intense and something he hadn’t experienced before. This type of environment and training has learnt Jesse some valuable lessons in football though such as learning to plan his next move before receiving the ball he commented.

We asked Jesse what made him attend a UK Football Trials event and he commented…” I have always wanted to be a professional footballer, but I have not had a chance to be scouted by professional clubs and showcase my ability.”

We also asked Jesse if he would be prepared to recommend UK Football Trials to anyone else and he had this to say….”Yes. It is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to be spotted as there are many scouts in attendance.”

Finally, we asked what’s next for Jesse and did the club give him any feedback or guidance and the club have decided to extend Jesse’s trial period before any formal decision is made.

Jesse has done incredibly well so far and clearly is a talented player gaining interest from multiple clubs. We here at UK Football Trials extend our best wishes to Jesse and we are looking forward to hearing how he gets on in the near future.

Jesse Read – Aged 15 - Scouted by West Bromwich Albion