Ghana defender Jeffrey Schlupp has revealed how he was scouted by Leicester City as a kid and remained at the club for the past eleven years harnessing his talent.
The 22-year-old versatile left wing-half moved to Milton Keynes as a 10-year-old with his Ghanaian family from Hamburg and got picked up by Leicester City after a trial spell with the club’s U12 side.
Schlupp, capped eight times by Ghana and scored twice, played his debut season in the English Premier League for Leicester City last season and helped them to maintain their top-flight status.
The versatile player who can play six different roles on the pitch has recounted how he was scouted by Leicester after just a few years in England.
“I was playing locally for a side in Milton Keynes, and they had a Milton Keynes-based scout that came to watch a few of the games. I scored quite a few goals then, I played up front, so I’m guessing he heard of my name or whatever. I went up for a trial and two weeks later actually signed. It was under-12s, so I was 11. I didn’t actually know where Leicester was or who they were at the time,” he revealed in an interview with Sport Magazine.
His experiences as youngster before his Premier League debut last season include a trial spell at Manchester United three years ago during the last season of Sir Alex Ferguson and a loan spell at Brentford, during which he scored six goals in nine games.
He has started all of Leicester’s eight league games of the season, lasting 707 minutes and scoring once.