Four Fulham youngsters sign professional terms

Four Fulham youngsters have signed professional contracts with the club today. Aaron Loupalo-Bi, Callum Osmand, Damon Park and Tom Olyott have been rewarded for excellent performances with the Fulham academy sides with their senior contracts, a club statement confirmed this afternoon.

Seventeen year-old striker Loupalo-Bi, who won the Premier League south golden boot after scoring seventeen times for Fulham’s under-18s last term, was delighted to commit his future to the club. He told the official website:

“For me I wanted to continue my journey here because it’s my boyhood club and I’ve been here since pre-academy, so it feels like home to me. I’m delighted to sign my first professional deal at the club and it’s a dream come true to achieve this. I hope to continue playing well and carry on scoring goals to help the team. I also want to try and push on with the under-21s throughout the season.”

Forward Callum Osmand also shone for Ali Melloul’s under-18s last season, scoring nine goals in eighteen appearances – including the dramatic late winner in the FA Youth Cup at Rochdale. Osmand overcame a difficult start to the season to become a key player and acknowledged the momentous nature of putting pen to paper on a professional deal:

“It’s been a dream of mine to become a professional since I was young and this is another huge step in my journey. I’m very pleased to sign a professional contract at this club. Overall I had a good and enjoyable season. It was a tough start for me but I kept working hard and the opportunities came and I had a positive end, contributing with goals and assists.”

Central defender Damon Park enjoyed an excellent campaign after joining Fulham from Oldham Athletic last year, making eleven appearances at under-18 level for the Whites. The dominant defender impressed on trial at Motspur Park and quickly become an integral part of Fulham’s academy set-up.

“I’m absolutely buzzing. This is something I’ve always dreamed of since being a kid and it’s exciting to begin this stage of my football journey. I’m looking forward to developing further. Since being on trial I’ve felt welcome at this club which was one of the main reasons I joined. My development over the past year as a player has been massive which is a credit to all the staff here and it was an easy decision for me to sign on. I’m fully settled now and just can’t wait to push on this season.”

Winger Tom Olyott, who had previously been on the books of Manchester City, has shown considerable character to put injury problems behind him and became a regular source of goals for the under-18s last term. He scored five times in sixteen matches and proved a serious threat to opposition defences every time he got on the ball.

“Signing my first professional contract is a huge achievement for me and my family. It is something I’ve worked towards my whole life and it’s nice to be rewarded for all the hard work I’ve put in from the start of my journey. Continuing here was an easy choice for me. Fulham is a great club known for developing young players and giving opportunities and so my aim is to push on as much as I can and hopefully take the next step.

This season I would like to establish myself as a consistent goal contributer. We want to push for the league and I also want to go further in the FA Youth Cup this year and show everyone the player I am and the team we are.”

Academy director Sean Cullen praised the talent and hard work of Fulham’s four new professionals.

“Aaron had an outstanding first year in our scholarship programme, both individually and as a member of the team. Winning the Under-18 PL Golden Boot was a fantastic achievement that we are all very proud of. The good news for Aaron is that he has more areas of his game to develop, and if he can rise to that challenge and build on his existing skill set, he has every chance to build on his excellent first season.

Callum is an exciting, hardworking forward. He grew into last season and we began to see his best qualities more frequently during the second half of the campaign. Callum has enjoyed international honours throughout the age groups with Wales, which has also positively supported his development.

Moving away from home and into a Category 1 Academy will always come with its challenges, however Damon demonstrated an outstanding attitude throughout the transition which helped support his development. Damon’s strengths are his physical presence and determination, however he has also made big improvements in his abilities on the ball. We look forward to continuing to see him develop into a well-rounded centre-back.

Tom is another player who joined us late in the pathway, but he has transitioned into the group very well. A tricky wide player who is technically very good; Tom has the ability to operate between the lines to create opportunities for himself and others.”