Thanks to Gavin Maxwell for the image.
Dungannon Swifts player, Michael Forbes, has secured a move to West Ham United. The teenager who celebrates his sixteenth birthday today, has been with Dungannon United Youth and Dungannon Swifts for three seasons and processed massively in his time at Dungannon. His talents have certainly not gone unnoticed as he has been heavily involved with the Northern Ireland Youth setup since a young age.
“From his first trial at West Ham United Michael impressed the coaches. They moved very quickly to get him over again and from day one I knew they liked what they saw. I had a few conversations with Del Ebanks who was very complimentary with everything Michael done, both on and off the field. Things have moved along very smoothly since then with negotiations between the two clubs being straightforward. Michael has had his medical and he will hopefully move across to West Ham in June. A very talented player Michael can play in the heart of the defence or in central midfield and at over 6 feet tall he is an exceptionally good athlete with a great game understanding. His progress has been helped under the guidance of Ciaran O’Kane Glenn McMenemy Terry Fitzpatrick Chris McCann and Stevie O Hare. I would like to wish Michael every success on behalf of all our coaches and teammates and I have no doubt he will have a fantastic career in the game.” Dixie Robinson, Head of Youth Development.
An understandably nervous but very excited Michael had this to say,
“I am really excited to have been given this amazing opportunity by West Ham United FC. It means a lot to me. It is going to be a big change but I can’t wait to get started.
Since I joined Dungannon in August 2017, the coaches and managers have helped me grow as a player. I want to thank everyone at Dungannon for helping me get this far.”
We would like to take the opportunity to wish Michael every success in his future football career. It has been an absolute pleasure to have him playing for Dungannon.