ST. LUCIA’S football fraternity will be keeping their fingers crossed as two of the island’s talented players are currently in England where they will be training with a number of professional clubs up until Saturday, September 17 before returning home the next day.
The two players left the island earlier this week.
St. Lucia’s two-time Junior Footballer of the Year, Nyrone Winter, and compatriot Melvin Doxilly and Under 20 team-mate will be hoping to make enough of an impression to open doors to possible professional careers.
The players will spend five days at Preston North End. They will then travel east to League One club Bradford City or Tranmere Rovers where they will be met by the training staff and engage in intense physicaltraining methodology and practice matches.
Meanwhile, St. Lucia Football Association Technical Director, Cyril Todd, has high hopes that the move for Winter and Doxilly could evolve into something significant for the two young players.
According to Todd, with the Under-20 team going into the Caribbean Football Union competition next month, this experience in England is about exposing the boys to a different level of preparation, a different way of doing things than they have been used to with their local clubs.
He said: “If they are able to impress the coaches over there, who knows, they could be invited to a formal trial and perhaps even be offered contracts. It only takes getting your foot in the door and these young men are as talented as anyone.”
The trip to England was facilitated in part by the Department of Youth Development and Sports, with support from Leisure Travel.
Meanwhile Nyrone will be back in England as he is set to visit Manchester City along with another national team-mate, Jervel Tobierre, for the final leg of the Digicel Kickstart development programme.
