Graduate in the spotlight: Keenan Ferguson signs for Tottenham Hotspur
How important was the Futures (Football & Education Academy) programme for you from 16 years old in order to showcase your talent?
The course was very important for me because it was another chance to get scouted and show the coaches what I was capable of. It’s a chance a lot of people may not get as there were trials beforehand so all of my focus was on getting through to that stage then when I got in, It was all about pushing myself and working hard every day to better myself to give me a chance of academy football whilst studying BTEC Sport at the same time.
What advice would you give to our elite youngsters at the Football & Education Academy?
The advice I would give out is that rejection doesn’t mean you have failed. It’s just part of the journey, only you can decide how far you want to go in life with how hard you work and how dedicated you are. Make sure you have friends around you that want the best for you and then make sure you strive every day to be the best, having the wrong company can affect your outcome in the long run.
How would you describe your experience in football from joining the Futures programme, playing for SUFC to eventually signing for a top 6 premier league club?
My experience has been up and down to be honest, from joining Futures (re-branded as Football & Education Academy in 2020) then signing for the Blades, everything was good but injuries set me back a lot but I kept working hard. Being released from United was hard for me as sometimes when you work so hard and if you don’t get a result straight away, you’re confused as to why.
For me it made me want to push myself even more and I never dropped off from where my standards were at and for that an opportunity came up at Tottenham which I took and have now signed a one-year deal. Being released, rejection and injuries decide whether mentally you are ready to go again and for me failure was never an option.
For more information about our Football & Education programme please email: joe.williamson@sufc-community.co.uk