A TEEN football ace from Dursley has recently signed his first professional contract.
Tom King, aged 17, has signed a two-and-a-half year deal committing his near future to Cheltenham Town.
In October last year he was called up to play for the England under-18s football squad as part of the World Cup warm-up tournament in Marbella.
Tom previously attended school at Cam Hopton Primary, and then Marling School in Stroud.
From the age of seven, Tom played with Cam Everside Youth Football Club and then moved onto the under-12s at Gloucester City.
At the age of 15, the forward made his debut for the Robins' under-18 team.
In May 2022, he eventually enrolled in the Cheltenham Town Football Academy.
In August last year, he became the youngest player to wear the Robins shirt in an EFL game, when he appeared in a League One match against Shrewsbury Town.
"It's an amazing feeling"
After signing the contract, Tom said: "It's an amazing feeling because I've been working hard for it since I joined the club about a year and a half ago.
"I never expected to get this offer so early and now I just want to get going. It's going to be a challenge but I'm ready to take it on.
"It's been some year and it's gone quickly, from making my debut, to being selected for England and now getting a pro contract, I just need to keep working hard."
![Gazette Series: Tom King from Dursley has signed a professional contract with Cheltenham Town]( "Gazette Series: Tom King from Dursley has signed a professional contract with Cheltenham Town")
Tom King from Dursley has signed a professional contract with Cheltenham Town (Image: Nizaam Jones/CTFC)
“Tom is an exciting player with bags of potential"
Academy manager Tim Bell added: "First of all a massive congratulations to Tom on this achievement.
“Tom is an exciting player with bags of potential whom we believe with time will go on to develop into a player that the fans can see play regularly for the first team.
"A special mention goes to all the staff across the club who have been a part of Tom’s development journey.
“There is some incredible work happening across the club to develop our future players and this is a sign of our continued progress these past few years.
"I’m excited for the academy and the club as we continue to provide a pathway into the first team for our players.
“We always want to produce homegrown players and this news shows that pathway is there for all our future prospects."
All photos by Nizaam Jones and Cheltenham Town Football Club.
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