Seventeen year old defender Rogér Meilton has today been told he can be the club's greatest player ever by the current appearance-making record holder Oliver Wahn. Speaking to the club's own TV channel, Wahn was asked how much he rated the young defender.
"He is one of the best defenders I have seen already. He is seventeen and doing things you would expect from twenty seven year olds. He doesn't take any nonsense and is not scared to shout out orders to other team mates with more experience or even myself. At seventeen he has a lot to learn, but if he continues the way he has started he will be the best player this club has ever seen."
Big praise from the club captain. Meilton will make his 30th appearance this Friday and his manager agrees with Wahn's statement.
"Roger will grow even more in stature if players like Oliver speak so highly of him. He may be seventeen but you wouldn't know that when you watch him play. If he was a striker, the media would be all over him so that may work in our benefit. He can be something special if he wants to be."
Barnstone's record of producing good defenders through its youth academy is starting to gain recognition. Three of the five defenders in the squad all started at the club. Staal, French and Meilton have all progressed through to the first team and have a reported value of roughly 30 million between them. Greyhound praised his staff for the talents emerging from within.
"We have a group of staff that are so committed to bringing through the talent we have. Not just on the pitch but they leave no stone unturned in developing the young lads' lifestyles at the same time. Their commitment is bringing high class professionals through to us and they deserve a massive amount of credit for doing this."