Ex-Nigeria U20 midfielder Nnamdi Ofoborh has revealed that he had two unsuccessful trials with Crystal Palace before he was accepted by Bournemouth.

Ofoborh proved that he can be a center back option for the Cherries after impressing on his competitive debut against Crystal Palace, going the distance in an 11-10 win on penalties in the Carabao Cup around a month ago.

"It was a bit personal for me because I went to Crystal Palace twice on trial, when I was 14 I went and they wouldn’t even let me train with the main group," says Ofoborh to Bournemouth's official website.

"Then I went there at 16 and the goalkeeper coach sent me home before the session in front of everybody and told me I wasn’t good enough.

"I came on a Tuesday and it was all a mess, they didn’t know I was coming. They let me train then I came back the following Thursday."

Ofoborh admitted that he was embarrassed to be shown the exit door by Crystal Palace youth team coaches before the start of his second training session with the club. 

He added : "Everyone was putting on their boots and the coach told me to go to see the goalkeeper coach, I got there and he wasn’t even looking at me, still coaching the goalkeepers. He said there was nothing to offer me, I wasn’t good enough.

"I was 15, I didn’t say anything but it was embarrassing. I had to walk back, take my boots off, put my trainers back on and leave before the session even started. He could have told me after the session, and those kinds of situations don’t leave you.

"You can’t let those things hold you back though. I used them for extra motivation before kick-off, going out on the pitch and going against their main boys."

With the exception of the second group game vs United States, Ofoborh was involved in all the matches played by the Flying Eagles at last year's FIFA U20 World Cup.

Igho Kingsley