Charlton Athletic U18s defender Seydil Toure spoke to Valley Gold after the recent 4-0 win at home to Barnsley.
The 17-year-old central defender who was born and raised in Hackney has backgrounds in the Czech Republic and Senegal and lists his strengths as his physicality and passing told Valley Gold:
“My idols are Sergio Ramos and Matthijs De Ligt. I joined Charlton Athletic at the start of the under 9 season as an 8-year-old, so this is my 9th year at the club. I have enjoyed every moment and I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to do the thing I love best, which is playing football. It is the best job in the world.
“The staff and players around me have been a big part in my development as a player on and off the pitch. I couldn’t be more grateful for what they have done. I was selected to join the Harris school programme at the start of the Under 14 season, where I was fortunate enough to leave school early and come to the training ground to train and improve myself on the pitch. I believe this stage was the real change in my development as I was training more regularly and had the chance to improve several aspects of the game.
“My proudest moments for the club so far have to be signing my Scholarship a year early at U15’s and also leading the team all the way to the final of the SuperCup 2019 in Northern Ireland. We weren’t the favourites to get to the final as there were some big-name clubs attending the tournament. However, we proved the locals wrong and performed so well over the course of the week, even beating favourites Manchester United 2-0, although we were very unfortunate to lose in the final against Glasgow Rangers.
“Unfortunately, I have missed the whole of this season and won’t be able to play until next pre-season, as I tore my meniscus and sprained my ACL in August which resulted in me having surgery in September. The players and staff have been very supportive during this time and always make me feel part of the squad. That’s the thing with Charlton, our bond as a team feels like one big family. I look forward to getting back on the pitch and helping the team out next season.”
Speaking about the 4-0 win at Sparrows Lane, Toure added:
“Going into the game, our U18’s ranked first in the Professional Development League South played Barnsley who are ranked 4th in the Northern section. The game was going to be tough as they are a very aggressive, energetic and determined side. The game started off a little scrappy and looked like a very tough battle, as planned, however, the young Addicks played some beautiful passages which Barnsley couldn’t cope with.
“The scoring opened with Mason Burstow in the 29th minute after Tyreece Campbell’s quick free-kick by the halfway line sent him 1 on 1 with the goalkeeper. The next arrived courtesy of Aaron Henry, smashing home a free-kick from around 25 yards out into the bottom corner. We went into the second half completely dominating 2-0 up.
“The excellent possession for Charlton carried on in the second half with Barnsley trying to pose more of a threat on us after a quiet first half however the players managed to stay calm and carried on moving the ball around them. Shortly after the restart Nathan Asiimwe beat his man at the edge of the box and crossed it to find Tyreece Campbell at the back post to tap in.
“Barnsley started to wear out as the game went on. Charlton were moving the ball exquisitely. Nazir Bakrin had a header disallowed from a corner due to a foul on the goalkeeper in the 86th minute. However, this did not stop the in-form Addicks from finding the back of the net in the 90th minute when a long ball over the top from Richard Chin found Mason Burstow who headed the ball into his path, cut back to beat the defender on the left side of the box and rocketed it past the goalkeeper into the side netting from a tight angle.
“A classy performance from the young Addicks and our 9th straight victory in the League. This has now put us 14 points clear of 3rd placed Millwall with us having a game in hand and 4 points clear of 2nd placed Ipswich Town who have a game in hand on us, setting our U18’s with a good chance of winning the League and getting to the Nationals with only four games left to play.”
Valley Gold enables supporters to play a pivotal role in the future of Charlton Athletic by helping the club to unearth talented footballers through its youth system. Valley Gold is entirely supporter-funded, with membership costing £120 per year. As a member of Valley Gold, you will also have the opportunity to scoop up to £5,000 in regular cash prizes. To learn more about the scheme or to become a Valley Gold member, please click here.