AFC Bournemouth
Nnamdi Ofoborh is keen to use his experience of training with the AFC Bournemouth first team to help lead the under-21s to cup glory this season.
Ofoborh has skippered the under-21s in their pursuit of silverware on three fronts – the Premier League Cup, Central League Cup and Hampshire Senior Cup.
Having already progressed to the final of the Central League Cup and the last eight of the Hampshire Senior Cup, the Cherries will be looking to qualify for the knockout stages of the Premier League Cup.
Victory in their final two group games – against West Brom tonight (7pm) and Liverpool on 24th February – would guarantee the Cherries a place in the last 16.
They do battle with the Baggies at Hednesford Town’s Keys Park headquarters (7pm) before hosting the Reds at Vitality Stadium a week on Sunday (1pm).
Ofoborh has captained the Cherries to victories over Burnley and West Brom, together with a 1-1 draw against Liverpool. Their only competitive defeat this season came in the competition when they went down 4-2 against the Clarets last month.
The 19-year-old midfielder has been training with the first-team squad after impressing manager Eddie Howe and his coaching staff during his time with the under-18s and under-21s.
Ofoborh is in his third season at Vitality Stadium having spent six years on the books at Tottenham and two with Millwall. He was named on the bench for the Cherries’ Carabao Cup ties against MK Dons, Blackburn and Norwich.
He told afcb.co.uk: “It’s a great experience training with the first team and learning new things. I’m really grateful for the opportunity.
“If I can take bits from each player from what they’ve gone through and what they’ve learned then, hopefully, that could make me a better player.
“I’ve been released twice and never expected to be training with a Premier League first-team squad when I arrived here three years ago.
“I love it here and the club believed in me when nobody else did. At my age, all I can do is be like a sponge and soak up all the information that I’m getting from everybody.
“This season has been really good for me and I’ve been fortunate to not have any injuries. It’s been great so far and, hopefully, it can get even better.”
Ofoborh added: “We want to try to win our final two group games in the Premier League Cup, finish top and qualify for the knockout stages.
“West Brom are a very good side. When we played them earlier this season, they were strong, powerful and quick.
“We went 1-0 behind and it was hard for the first 25 minutes. But we stuck in there, dug deep and eventually got the win.
“We are going to need to keep putting in good performances and dig a lot deeper now because the games are only going to get harder.
"Hopefully, everyone can stay injury-free and we can capitalise on the positions we have got ourselves into in these cup competitions.”
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