CALL OF DUTY
Pals say 16-year-old star Sessegnon is so hopeless at computer games he must play football all the time!
FULHAM prospect Ryan Sessegnon’s teammates know he’s a special football talent.
And they reckon it’s just as well he’s good at something because, unlike every other 16-year-old they know, he’s absolutely useless when it comes to computer games. Midfielder Kevin McDonald t r ied to encourage the youngster by buying him a Nintendo – but says he is the worst gamer ever.
As the Cottagers prepared to take on Tottenham in the FA Cup fifth round this afternoon, McDonald, 28, revealed: “Sess plays these games on his phone and I’ve got involved with him.
“I play him at this game called 8 Ball Pool and he’s terrible at it — he’s absolutely shocking.
“All the boys had bought Nintendo DS’s as well so I thought, ‘I’ll get Sess one’.
“I bought him one and I thought, ‘He’ll be all right at this’, but he’s the worst player I ever seen.
“Honestly. We’ve started playing Mario Kart on it. There are eight people in a race… he finishes eighth every time. I’ve never seen anything like it.
“When I was 16 I thought I was brilliant at every single game, on my phone or whatever. I don’t know what he does with his time.
“He must play football all the time because he isn’t playing computer games, no chance.”
Whatever he does with his spare time it is paying off in football terms and, despite the ribbing he gets in the dressing room, Sessegnon’s on-field ability is not lost on the senior pros at the club.
McDonald (right) added: “He has such massive potential it’s incredible and he’s such a nice kid as well.
“He’s as quiet as anything, he could be sat in the corner of this room and you probably wouldn’t recognise him, he just sits there and says nothing. But he’s a nice guy and whatever he wants to do is entirely up to him. The future is his.
“If he applies himself properly and keeps himself grounded then I’ve got no doubt he’ll go right to the top. He’s an athlete and at 16 he’s only going to get stronger, which he needs to do, he knows that himself.
“He’s going to learn the position, which is fair enough — at 16 I’m sure he’s got mistakes in him, but he has great potential.
“He just came on from out of nowhere. He’s sprung into a surprise and he’s such a good option to have. You’ve got Scott Malone at leftback who has been mainly the regular one but you put in Sess for a few games and every single time he does well. He very rarely has a bad game. I try my best to keep him grounded — and he keeps me young, We have a great laugh.” Keeping their feet on the ground collectively will be difficult for Championship Fulham if they can spring a surprise against Mauricio Pochettino’s high-flyers.
McDonal d added: “Everyone’s buzzing to play against Tottenham, It’s a great test for us. We’ll go out there with no pressure on us. No one expects us to win.”