“A dream come true.” That’s the view of Jamaican forward Dujuan Richards following his signing for the English Premier League club, Chelsea.
The 17-year-old – also known as “Whisper” – signed for the club over the weekend, but he will join officially when he turns 18 in November this year.
Richards had been close to signing for Newcastle, another EPL club, following a successful trial period on Tyneside, only for Chelsea to swoop in and hijack the deal.
“What a dream come true,” Richards wrote on social media. “When I am 18 years old, I will be able to play in the Premier League and for a club like Chelsea. Champions League winners and with such a high pedigree that I’m still so grateful to God for this opportunity to challenge other great talents on the colosseum of football.”
The contract was arranged through the Phoenix All Stars Football Academy in Kingston, and Richards thanked the club’s coach Craig Butler for helping achieve the “life-changing” goal.
“I would like to thank my coach and manager Craig Butler first for seeing the potential in me and then working on my weaknesses and building me to the level I am now,” he added. “His guidance and perseverance has resulted in my getting this opportunity and signing this contract. I shudder to think what could have happened if I listened to others and not to Craig Butler.”
He said: “I am also grateful to the Phoenix all-stars football academy for its investment in all the youths. Providing a place where even if you can’t pay, no one is left behind. I’m a product of that type of support. My mother and family. What can I say, you have been a rock and a fortress to me always seeking what is best for me and sacrificing yourself for me. Mom, I love you, and I am going to make you proud.”
Dujuan Richards also made his Jamaica Reggae Boyz debut on Saturday, alongside Chelsea winger Omari Hutchinson, but it was a bitter-sweet moment because the Trinidad & Tobago Soca Warriors beat them 1-0 in the contest played in Montego Bay.
CMC/
