Northampton schoolboy begins life at Premier League Villa

Published on Tuesday 30 June 2009 21:46

Courtney Cameron will today begin pre-season training as an Aston Villa player following his transfer from the Cobblers.

Cameron, a former Weston Favell Upper School pupil and a regular for John Henry Youth Alliance team Soccer Stars before he joined Town seven years ago, secured the dream move last month.

The 16-year-old left-winger becomes the third player to leave Sixfields for a Premier League club, following in the footsteps of Mark Randall and Anton Blackwood, who swapped Northampton for Arsenal.

As with those deals, the one which has taken Cameron to Villa Park will see the Cobblers benefit from an initial payment, followed by more cash when certain targets are reached.

But according to head of youth Geoff Harrop, the benefits to Northampton Town are not purely financial.

"As a club we will never stand in a player's way if he gets the opportunity for a move like this," said Harrop.

"I think that helps us when we're trying to bring youngsters into the system.

"They can see that if they work hard they can get their rewards here, but also that we will always have their best interests at heart."

And he added: "This deal is really a major pat on the back for everybody connected with the youth set-up.

"People only see myself and Sean (Parrish, youth-team coach) but we've got so many other coaches and scouts working behind the scenes.

"When something like this happens it is a nice reward for every one of them."

Cameron played for Aston Villa against Crystal Palace and did enough to secure a contract with the Birmingham giants – today he will begin life at the Academy digs which will be his home for the next couple of years.

Steve Hajduk, Villa's Rushden-based scout and the man who helped broker the deal, said: "He's done very well over the past year or so and he's got all the qualities we look for in a young player.

"It's nice when it happens to nice people; the lad's family have been very supportive to him, they've kept his feet on the ground at all times and that's very important."

The deal will not, though, be the start of a talent trading agreement between the two clubs.

"I've known Geoff (Harrop) for a long time and he's a great guy," he said. "We've both worked very hard with the two clubs to make this happen and all parties are very satisfied with how it has turned out."

For Cameron's parents, the challenge switches to keeping their son level-headed at what must be a very exciting time.

"We're all very excited but Courtney knows this is just the beginning," said his mother, Jackie. "We've been a part of the whole process, we've been kept in the loop with everything that has happened, and the clubs couldn't have done more for us."

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Northampton schoolboy begins life at Premier League Villa

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