The story of how a skinny kid from Warrington became Wales award winner
BEATING Gareth Bale to any award in Welsh football is no mean feat. But for David Brooks, a skinny 21-year-old who has been pulling up trees both in the Premier League and in the national jersey, it’s very much deserved and a mark of his immense achievements in the past year.
Brooks may look like he’s fresh out of high school, but he’s just cleaned up at the FAW Awards, winning the men’s Young Player and Player of the Year gongs at the Thursday night ceremony in the Vale of Glamorgan.
It caps a rollercoaster couple of years for the Warrington-born winger, who once represented England and didn’t make his Football League debut until August 2016.
It’s been a ridiculous Welsh-flavoured rise ever since and Brooks is showing no signs of relenting.
This is how David Brooks became just about the biggest thing in Welsh football...
Modest beginnings
BROOKS was born and grew up initially in the north west of England to a Welsh mother, which is how he qualifies for the Red Dragons.
From 2004 to 2014, he was part of the Man City youth system, though when his family moved to south Yorkshire, Brooks switched to the Sheffield United academy and quickly signed professional terms.
His first taste of professional football came while on loan at National League outfit Halifax Town in the 2015/16 season – little did Brooks know he’d be playing in the Premier League just three seasons later.
But that five-game stint with Halifax, which yielded one goal, stood Brooks in good stead to make a breakthrough with Sheffield United in 2017.
By then, the Blades were back in the Championship and Brooks had become an overnight regular in the team, playing 30 times in the league and earning a Wales call-up against France in November 2017.
That was the first game following Wales’ World Cup qualifying heartbreak and saw then-boss Chris Coleman start to usher in a new generation, with Brooks very much at the forefront alongside Ben
GIGGS HOPES THE TIME IS RIGHT
RYAN Giggs is hoping that his Wales side can become renowned for scoring late goals in a similar fashion as he did at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson.
‘Fergie Time’ was a speciality of United under the legendary Scot in which much of their success was forged by striking deep into added time and securing dramatic results.
Giggs has already sampled a similar trait in his brief spell as Wales manager, with Ben Woodburn’s late winner against Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday night the second time in three games his side have scored in second-half injury time.
And when asked if having a knack for scoring late on is a good sign, the United legend responded: “Yes, I’ve said that, as long as you’ve got a clean sheet.
“OK, it didn’t come of anything against Denmark but we scored late on - and now we have done it again. That’s a nice habit to have and that’s what I said to the players.
“Once you have that doesn’t leave you.
“You know it, and the opposition know it as well, that you are a team that can score late.”
Wales rested a number of key players for their friendly victory on Wednesday night, however Giggs is hopeful that he will have a full squad to choose from by the time they face Slovakia in their opening Euro 2020 qualification match tomorrow.
“We’ve got a few bumps and bruises but we have time to prepare for the game,” Giggs continued. “Aaron (Ramsey)’s injury is coming along nicely, we just have to monitor that. Everyone else is good.
“Ashley (Williams) and Paul Dummett needed a game, especially Ashley because he’s been in and out (at Stoke).” trait it Sheffield United, Brooks immediately justified the £10million Bournemouth paid for him with a string of top displays in the top flight, impressing Ryan Giggs on debut against Cardiff City in August.
He’s scored six goals and laid on four assists in 25 Premier League appearances this term, performances which have seen him linked with mega-money moves to Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur of late, with £50million mentioned in some quarters.
Bournemouth even felt compelled to offer Brooks a new and improved long-term contract – a massive reward for his form little more than halfway through his debut Premier League campaign.
He might even be a candidate for the PFA Young Player Of The Year award at the end of the season.
He’s certainly a shoo-in for many more Wales awards in the years to come and could earn that enormous move to a top-six club very soon.
It’s very clear David Brooks is only just getting started.