Someone might need to pinch Michael Forbes.
After an incredible season with West Ham United U18s, one that has culminated in signing professional terms, the centre-back is not 100 per cent sure he is not dreaming.
For a lad who did not start playing football until their late childhood, it has been an immense journey for Forbes, one that is set to continue in Claret and Blue for at least another two seasons after putting pen to paper on his first professional contract.
“It’s unbelievable,” Forbes told West Ham TV. “From starting football very late in my life, to being where I am now in such a short space of time, it’s been unbelievable for me. I’m really happy, as are my family and my friends, and I’m just proud to sign this contract because I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.
“When I got the news, it was one of the best days of my life. I was really nervous going in, but when [Academy Manager] Ricky Martin told me, I was over the moon. To sign a two-year deal too is unbelievable and such a proud moment for me and my family.
“It was a bit of an emotional one. I rang up my mum and my dad. I was in Spain on international duty when I found out so it was weird; all my international teammates were there congratulating me.
“I remember being on the phone with my dad, telling him, and he started crying. Then because he was crying I started crying. It was emotional but I was happy to be able to do it for them.”
Born and raised in Northern Ireland, Forbes had only been playing football for four years when the chance to sign a scholarship with the Hammers came along.
It has been a strange couple of seasons, with the teenager moving to England at the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic, but one that made Forbes a professional footballer.
“I only really started playing when I was about eleven. Friends where I live told me to go, but I didn’t really want to go. I got dragged into it and started playing with a local team, a Sunday league team, and then West Ham came along when I was about 15.
“I joined the Club in July 2020. It was a weird time with COVID-19. I probably started badly as a first year scholar but I knuckled down and worked hard to try and get myself into the team, and I played a lot of games in my first year.
“They awarded me the captaincy at the start of my second year, which was an unbelievable moment for me, and it was a way for me to kick on in my football career. The last couple of months have been unbelievable. It’s been a mad journey in the last two years.”
Forbes was central to West Ham’s success in the U18s Premier League South last season, captaining the side to a second-place finish in the league and playing 23 times in all competitions.
Having gotten his first taste of U23s football under Mark Robson this campaign, Forbes is excited for the challenge of establishing himself in the development team.
He added: “Scholarship was hard for me, coming over from Ireland, but now the focus is getting myself in the U23s team. It’s a big step up. All the boys aren’t the same age as you and there is a lot of older boys. I’ve got to come into pre-season looking to take someone’s place.
“I know what to expect but you want to get yourself established in the team. I’ve come off the bench a couple of times for the U23s and started one game. I’m really looking forward to trying to establish myself in this team.”
