Davis’ technical quality impresses Fulham academy director
Fulham youngster Ben Davis has impressed the English club's academy director Huw Jennings with his "high technical quality".
Former Singapore Sports School student Davis, 18, has turned out for Singapore's youth teams.
He moved to London in 2016 and signed professional terms with English Premier League side Fulham's academy last July, becoming the first Singaporean footballer to do so with a top-flight English club.
Davis was born in Phuket to an English father and a Thai mother.
The teen was in the news last week after the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said he had defaulted on his national service commitments. He was required to enlist two weeks ago.
After signing for the Cottagers, Mindef revealed that it had rejected his application for NS deferment on the grounds that he did not "meet the criteria for long-term deferment from full-time NS".
But things are looking more rosy for Davis in London.
He has impressed Jennings - a renowned youth developer who has helped produce the likes of Gareth Bale, Adam Lallana, Theo Walcott, Ryan Sessegnon and Moussa Dembele.
Jennings told The New Paper: "Ben had a really good first year as a scholar here at Fulham - which is the contract before a professional agreement.
"He really impressed us with his high technical quality and his ability in possession to be very effective.
"We were very pleased to give him a two-year professional contract with a view to seeing if he can make steps towards our first team.
"Unfortunately, Ben picked up a nasty injury, nasty because it was very difficult to diagnose.
"What we thought was bruising of his shin has unfortunately turned out to be more sinister, in terms of the challenge of the injury and the stress fracture.
"But he will come back, hopefully, in the next few months, and we look forward to working with Ben and monitoring his progress for next year because he is a player with a lot of talent and an excellent work ethic." - DILENJIT SINGH
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