How Indian-origin starlet Nyan Mesuria could become a Premier League star
Nyan Mesuria has been a big sensation over the past few days. The 14-year-old recently featured in a video where he is touted as "football's first Indian superstar" and judging by his skills show in it, he certainly seems to have a big future ahead.
Born in Greater London to Indian parents, Mesuria currently plays for Ipswich Town's academy under-15s team. He will be eligible to represent India in international football in the future but is currently building his career in England. The youngster has made rapid strides, earning a guest move to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur's Under-15s side in May earlier this year for a few tour games in the United States.
Mesuria was among four Ipswich Town players - Ben Knight, Zak Brown and Liam Gibbs being the others - who were lent to Spurs for their commitments in San Diego. Born in December 2002, Mesuria has the potential to become a future Premier League star and follow in the footsteps of plenty of current stars who started out in the lower leagues at youth level.
The likes of Demarai Gray, Nathan Redmond and Will Hughes have grown into Premier League players in the last few years coming through the youth levels and proving themselves at Championship level. With his deal with Ipswich Town set to run until 2021 which is a scholarship extension of his current schoolboy contract, Mesuria has the platform to grow into a player who is coveted by English top-flight clubs.
India has never seen any of its players play at the elite level of the Premier League, although that stands to change should players like Mesuria fulfil their potential. That said, whether he switches allegiance from England to India in the future remains to be seen. Currently 14, Mesuria still has time on his hands to develop.
Given he has already had a brief stint at Tottenham already, bigger clubs have also been alerted. Mesuria also won a 12-month placement at the Chelsea Foundation Football Development Centre back in 2015 at Asian Star - a talent hunt program for British Asian footballers.
However, keeping his feet on the ground is the key to future success for this teenager from London. Ryan Sessegnon, Fulham's 17-year-old wunderkind, resisted all temptations of a big move to a Premier League club when he signed a four-year deal with Fulham in June, putting an end to all speculations linking him to the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool.
While Mesuria has still some way to go to reach Sessegnon's level, he can learn a lot from the promising English left-back. The Football League Championship is a testing environment for even the most hardened pros, but the likes of the aforementioned Redmond and Gray all took their baby steps towards Premier League stardom by playing at the lower level of second tier football.
Mesuria is another such talent who, if given time to grow, has the potential to be a Premier League player in the future. If that happens, not only will it be a proud moment for the player, but it will also make him a history-maker for India.