Fulham have seen some big talents emerge through the club’s youth ranks but not every prospect can go on to become a Premier League star.
Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho spring to mind in recent times having shown their talent at Craven Cottage.
Both players ended up joining Liverpool and clearly have huge potential for the future.
Mika Biereth is now on the Arsenal books but is now showing his quality on loan with Sturm Graz in Austria.
Ryan Sessegnon has been hit by injuries in recent times whilst Elijah Adebayo is proving Fulham wrong having become a dangerous Premier League striker with Luton Town.
These players have mixed stories; some have lived up to the hype, some have had to battle back from disappointment, some have encountered problems in their development.
One case stands out though as Matthew Briggs has opened up on his struggles after breaking through at Fulham.
Matthew Briggs on Fulham and Arsenal
Wandsworth-born Briggs looked destined for stardom.
The left back joined the Fulham ranks at the age of just 10 and was being touted as the next big thing.
Fulham handed Briggs his Premier League debut in May 2007, making him the youngest player in Premier League history at 16 years and 65 days old.
The aforementioned Elliott ironically broke that record 12 years later but the two players have had different fates.
Briggs struggled with injuries, his loan spells to Leyton Orient, Peterborough United, Bristol City and Watford didn’t really go to plan.
In 2014, seven years after his debut, Briggs was released and joined Millwall before heading to Colchester United and Chesterfield.
Barnet, Maldon & Tiptree, Coggeshall Town, HB Koge, Dartford, Vejle, Gosport Borough, Horsham… these are the clubs Briggs ended up joining, which isn’t what was expected of his career.
Briggs has now opened up on the entire situation, telling Rising Ballers that he effectively regressed and felt like he lost his footballing ability after his debut.
One key moment surrounds a potential move to Arsenal as Briggs admitted that he was swaying towards joining his friend Craig Eastmond in the Gunners ranks.
Fulham offered the chance of a Premier League debut though and Briggs decided to ditch a move to Arsenal and sign on at Craven Cottage.
“I was still at school, so I need to sign my scholarship. The whole way through my schooling, one of my friends, Craig Eastmond, was at Arsenal at the time and he would always come and say ‘come and sign for Arsenal, so-and-so has been trying to get you to come and wants me to talk to you about coming’. It’s an attractive club, Arsenal – we’re not going to kid anyone here. If they come in for you, you’re going to be tempted to go.”
“The name Arsenal was like… ‘God, I’d love to play for them’. So I started to sway to going there and I’ve not signed by scholarship yet. Fulham obviously want me to sign and keep offering me the contract, but I’m still umming and ahhing about it. Then my debut comes up and the only way you can play is, obviously, if you sign a professional contract. They’ve offered me a two-year scholar and a one or two-year pro, and I’m not going to turn down the chance to play in the Prem, so I ended up signing at Fulham.”
Briggs went on to make 30 first-team appearances for Fulham but was just never able to reach the heights many expected of him.
Now 33, Briggs accepts that his inner doubts held him back and hearing him speak so openly about his struggles is quite moving.
Briggs is now an academy player mentor at Fulham, meaning he can try and help some of the club’s youngsters moving forward, using his own experience to shape the players of the future.
Briggs seems to be in a much better place now and with his playing career over and it’s great to see Fulham handing him a role inside the club after his struggles.
The post 'I started to sway': Former Fulham wonderkid shares reason why he snubbed Arsenal move as a teenager appeared first on Fulham News.
