Blackburn Rovers youngster on impressing Jon Dahl Tomasson
Not every footballer can make it. Some, sadly, fall by the wayside.
Unfortunately, that is the nature of the beast. The conversion rate from academy talent to first-team regular is far too small throughout English football.
At Blackburn Rovers, that trend is bucked. There has been a huge investment to keep the academy at Category 1. That isn’t for show or good optics but the develop talent to sustain their future.
18 months ago, few knew about the talent of Adam Wharton. Or Harry Leonard. The list is endless. In pre-season, Jon Dahl Tomasson got to take a look at the next cabs of rank.
EAD MORE: How Blackburn Rovers prepare their academy talent for Tomasson
Amongst those to move up to first-team pitches at the Brockhall Senior Training Centre is Harrison Wood. The 19-year-old has spent over a decade competing in the younger age groups with blue and white halves on his chest.
With Tomasson in the stands watching on, he netted and created the decisive goals as the Under-21s beat OGC Nice in the Premier League Interntional Cup. In the midst of the international break, most head coaches would be forgiven for taking some time to themselves and recharging their batteries.
At Rovers, things are a bit different and for the young players, it means that someone is always watching.
“Everyone wants to impress him,” Wood said on Tomasson. “In pre-season, everyone wanted to go out and impress. There are always opportunities, you see it through the club. It is just about taking it and hopefully getting a chance at the end of it.
You have got to be selfish and take your own opportunity. You have got to go and score goals, make blocks. You have got to do it yourself at the end of the day and make a career out of it.
“You are training with the best of the Championship, to be honest. You learn a lot from them and when you go up there, you are amazed by the quality and how far you have got to reach. Every day is a learning day. We always say you have got to impress and it is just about doing what you are good at.”
