Michael Forbes had just returned to Northern Ireland when he got the call.
‘We want you to train with the first team’ was the message down the line. ‘The Gaffer wants to see what you’ve got.’
Suddenly, Forbes’s plans had changed. Instead of joining his country’s U21s after a few days off, the 19-year-old was linking with the senior squad, training, and looking to impress.
Over the following couple of days, he did just that. What followed was a trip to Finland for Northern Ireland’s final UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier – and a senior international debut.
“It was around the 80th minute,” he recalled. “The coaches told me to go and get ready and I was like ‘Jeez!’ – I’m coming on here.’
“The Gaffer just said go on and enjoy the last ten or so minutes – and that’s what I did. I loved every second of it. It was a proud day for me and my family.”
Forbes is beaming with pride as he recalls that night. It was all a bit surreal for the youngster because this meant a lot. It had been some journey.
Only seven years ago, Forbes was a ball boy at Windsor Park in Belfast, throwing the ball back to his heroes. Now, he was sat, having breakfast with them!
“I remember Jonny Evans coming and sitting next to me,” he recalled, talking about his first few days in the camp. “At breakfast, he just made me feel comfortable and part of the group, just chatting me through things and making me feel welcome.
“I think to have a player of his status, someone who’s won the Premier League [with Manchester United], captained his country, and played over 100 times, to take that time to speak to me is really special. It helped a lot.”
Evans is no doubt someone the youngster looks up to. Both are defenders, of course. But leadership, so key to Evans’s own game, is something the youngsters thrive with too. There was a reason he was made West Ham U21s skipper at the start of the season. Forbes is a leader – and then some.
“Any time I am on the pitch I love taking on the role and responsibility of captain,” he explained. “Making sure I am leading by example, and I feel like that communication to the rest of the group is a really strong part of my game.
“I have been in and out of the team due to injuries this season, but I want to keep building on that skill.”
That role is clear whenever Forbes steps onto the pitch. He pushes his teammates forward – and his importance has been shown as the young Hammers have stormed to a 16-match unbeaten run going into the Christmas and New Year break.
“It has been an unbelievable start to the season for the U21s,” he stated. “Since the first game at Arsenal, we have been on a great run. The results we have had and the wins we have had been really impressive.
“When I was a second-year scholar, a lot of the rest of the current U21s team were first-year scholars. We got on like a house on fire and it has been unbelievable to carry it on this season.”
That will of course be the goal for Steve Potts’ men but Forbes is mature enough to know that football has both its ups and downs. This is a player whose 2023 has seen the high of an international debut but also the low of a considerable spell on the sidelines through injury.
“It’s a crazy game and that’s just football,” he concluded. “There are ups and downs, massive highs and massive lows. At the start of the year, I didn’t kick a ball for six months.
Then last month, I think I’m going home to relax for a bit – and then three or four days later I’m off to Finland and I’ve made my senior [national team] debut. It’s all a bit crazy, really!”
