Source :- THE AGE NEWS
To follow his dream of becoming a professional footballer, James Overy had to accept that another dream was over.
For the past two seasons, Overy – one of the hottest young talents in the Australian game – has been enrolled in the academy of Manchester United, rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names at one of the biggest clubs in the world, learning from them and hoping to pull on that famous red jersey in a Premier League match at Old Trafford.
He still could one day. Stranger things have happened.
But the truth is that less than one per cent of Premier League academy players actually play a senior match for their club – and, according to the University of Essex, just four per cent of them manage to make it professionally anywhere.
In that sense, Overy, 18, is one of the lucky ones, having signed a three-year contract with Sydney FC that he hopes will take him where he wants to go.
But that didn’t make the process of packing up his locker and saying goodbye to his teammates and coaches in Manchester any less upsetting.
“It was pretty sad,” Overy said. “Everyone was like, “It’s a great opportunity, we’re all buzzing for you, we’ll keep in touch,” everything like that. But obviously, it is pretty emotional.
“It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world, and you have to almost let go of that United dream, in a way. But I’m ready to start my professional career. I’m ready to start playing games.”
Overy was 15 years old when his breakout performance for Perth Glory in a friendly against West Ham United in 2023 caught the eye of United’s scouts.
The right-sided defender joined their youth set-up the following year, and under both Ruben Amorim and Michael Carrick, was invited to train regularly with United’s seniors; Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount and skipper Bruno Fernandes took him under their wing.
“People think if you go up to first-team training, they’re standoffish, but it’s the complete opposite. They’ll come over, come give me hugs, everything, just talk to me,” he said.
“It was a bit easier saying goodbye to them because they know the process. They know what it takes. They know that you have to take that step in order to take another step further.”
The club’s hierarchy, including Carrick, told Overy that he had taken everything he could from his experiences in academy football, and that the only way he could improve from here was to play against men, as soon and as regularly as possible.
“I’ve seen a lot of James,” Carrick told this masthead, in an interview conducted before Overy’s transfer to Sydney FC was confirmed.
“I’ve watched a lot of academy football over the last few years. My son’s in the academy, so I’m not just watching the younger players over the last few months, I’ve watched them for a period of time. I’m as close as friends as you could possibly get with [former Socceroo] Richard Garcia, and he’s coached James at times with some of the younger Aussie teams as well.
“He’s done well. He can play off the left, he can play off the right, he’s got a lot of ability. It’s that stage of his career … a big kind of window in your career to see what happens next, and he’s got that opportunity right in front of him now.”
Overy consulted two of his closest friends and former teammates in Australia’s youth national teams, Socceroos duo Paul Okon jnr and Lucas Herrington, about whether the A-League was the right next step for him. The feedback was unanimously positive.
Okon jnr, he said, set a perfect example for him to follow. Like Overy, he also exited one of Europe’s most productive academies – in his case, Portuguese giants Benfica – and came home in search of regular first-team football.
After a dominant season with the Sky Blues, Okon jnr made his Socceroos debut, played at a World Cup, and earned a transfer to a club in Germany’s Bundesliga, 1.FC Koln.
“If it’s one year, two years, three years, however long it would be … each player is different, but Pauly’s a pretty big blueprint,” he said.
“That’s what I want to do … I definitely want to play and try and get back to Scotland, England, Europe, wherever it is. But right now, I’m here, I’m ready to play and ready to win trophies.”
There is another useful yardstick waiting for Overy at Sydney FC. Rhyan Grant has effectively owned the club’s right-back position for almost two decades. The generational gap is almost comical: Grant made his A-League debut the year after Overy was born.
Now the teenager hoping to take his place is leaning on him for advice, with the pair already staying back after training on Monday to work on their crossing together.
“He’s obviously such an icon of the club,” said Overy. “He’s such a good guy and such a good person to learn off.”
Overy could make his Sky Blues debut as soon as Wednesday, when his new side faces Melbourne Victory in an Australia Cup semi-final at Kogarah.
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