Jamaica Gleaner

Campbell a pioneer of Mt Pleasant-Charlton partnershi­p

- Gregory Bryce/Staff Reporter

JUST A week after announcing their historic partnershi­p with English Football League (EFL) League One club Charlton Athletic, Mount Pleasant are already seeing some fruits from their l abour with the announceme­nt that Devonte Campbell is with the English outfit’s academy on a training stint.

Campbell, the Jamaican Under20 internatio­nal, has joined the League One club for a period of two weeks where he will be training with the Charlton Athletic Academy to gain internatio­nal exposure.

While the stint is just for two weeks, Mount Pleasant’s sporting director, Paul Christie, believes that should Campbell impress, there is a strong possibilit­y that his stay in England could prove to be permanent.

“Charlton Athletic understand and Mount Pleasant understand what we are trying to do here and, yes, the possibilit­ies are endless. It is very possible that you might see him in an English or a European jersey in the near future if he impresses in the sessions.”

Campbell, who has been a student of the Mount Pleasant Academy since he was 14 years old, made his senior debut with the organisati­on’s Jamaica Premier League club i n 2021, before scoring his first goal against Molynes United in a 4-1 win.

Since then, Campbell has gone on to make five appearance­s for the Jamaica under-20 team and received a senior call-up for the Reggae Boyz squad for an internatio­nal friendly against Peru in 2021.

Christie explained that Campbell’s training stint is a credit to the recent ‘Mountain to Valley’ partnershi­p signed by the two clubs. Christie said the partnershi­p will not only be a benefit to the players on the field but also of benefit to the developmen­t of the club’s internal structure.

“It is a multifacet­ed approach that the partnershi­p is taking. It will include players from Charlton coming to the Caribbean and Mount Pleasant for training experience, as well as our players and coaching staff as well as administra­tive staff going over there and learning to see how it is being done at that level, so we can replicate and improve.”

Campbell is the first player to make a move under the partnershi­p, but Christie is confident that more players will follow his footsteps in the near future and benefit from top-class training from Charlton Athletic.

“Charlton is ranked number eight in English academies, so they must be doing something well,” said Christie.

“We are trying to assemble the best talents at the academy and that is one of the reasons that we know that this partnershi­p will be beneficial to us because we are abiding by the best practices of how an academy should be run from a global standpoint.”

 ?? ?? Devonte Campbell
Devonte Campbell

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