West Ham starlet Kaelan Casey says it’s “a dream come true” making his first team debut.
Obviously, George Earthy is getting all the attention for scoring in just his second Premier League appearance against Luton. However, that wasn’t the only landmark for the academy of football as Kaelan Casey made his senior debut.
The central-defender has been at the club since he was 7 and is a boyhood West Ham fan – making it all the more special that he got his first appearance. For him though, it was made even greater by the fact he was replacing a player he grew up idolising.
“I grew up watching a lot of West Ham players that are here now,” Casey explained to the official site. “Angelo is probably the one who I remember watching when I was a kid – I remember him scoring at a game I was at too – so it was pretty surreal to be the player to replace him.”
“It’s a dream come true obviously. I think that’s the case for any boy who loves football. You want to grow up and play in the Premier League, so doing it with your Club is really special.”
“It was amazing to get that reception, but I didn’t hear much when I came on the pitch. I was so nervous, I just sort of blocked it all out because I was so focused on doing a good job.”
“I was just thinking about getting on when I was called back to the bench. The Gaffer gave me the nod and said ‘You’re coming on’, so it was all a bit mad.”
“He just wanted to make sure we got the job done but I wanted to enjoy the moment as much as possible because it is such a big thing to have done. The Premier League is what I always watched as a young boy and that is where you want to be.”
Since he was with the U7s, he has constantly had one boy by his side – his good friend George Earthy. Rising through the age groups together of the club you both support and then getting an incredible moment each in the same game must be what dreams are made of.
Understandably, the 19-year-old was overjoyed for his teammate but he wants it to be just the beginning for both of them. “When I saw him come on and score, I was so proud of him,” he exclaimed. “We’ve come through the ranks together so to come on and share a pitch with him in the Premier League makes that debut even better.”
“Next year, is another season for us to impress. On a personal level, I want to try and make my mark with the first team, but we will just have to see what will happen. Hopefully, the weekend is just the start and there are many more appearances to come.”