Rovers trio Norway-bound
THERE’S A big opportunity on the horizon for three Wexford lads over the course of the next six months as they head to Norway to link up with Bergsoy.
The former Shamrock Rovers trio of Dapo Abidoye, Shadrach Onwubiko and Ben Rossiter will join the Norwegian third tier side in the hope of getting some minutes under their belts in a competitive environment.
Onwubiko and Rossiter will make the loan move from the Chesterfield FC Academy in the UK, where they have been for the last 18 months. This comes on the back of the training programme for the National League side, hosted by Aileen O’Connor and Thomas ‘Tucker’ O’Brien.
“Dan Hatfield (of Fraser Sports Management) contacted me,” said O’Brien, who has been heavily involved in the development of all three players.
“The boys were playing with Chesterfield and he contacted me about Shadrach and Ben, getting them over on a six-month contract.
“Neil Cluxton rang me (Chesterfield Academy manager) and Aileen asked about the boys going over. They were in our system on a Sunday night, the Chesterfield Academy. They went over there on trial for a week and the coaches liked them so they made the step up over there.
“They are training four times a week full-time, they are getting a wage and they are going to do a bit of work in the community, they will get extra money for that.
“Everything is paid for over there, their accommodation and food is paid for, which is good because it’s expensive to live over there.”
While Onwubiko and Rossiter will be expected to return to the Chesterfield Under-23 set-up at the end of their loan spell, Dapo Abidoye has taken a slightly different route to Scandinavia.
“Dan contacted me about Dapo,” said ‘Tucker’, the current Rovers head coach. “Dapo played with us at Rovers, he went over last week and signed a six-month contract with them.
“Myself and Aileen had to get the paperwork done for him, so it’s the three boys gone over from Wexford.”
Six months will no doubt come and go pretty quickly for the three Wexford men, but they now have the opportunity to create memories in a new city, surrounded by new people, that will last a lifetime.