The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Fagan-walcott has kept elite company
The football education of Dunfermline defender Malachi Fagan-walcott has been laid bare after he appeared alongside the likes of Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Jamal Musiala in a throwback photo.
Fagan-walcott, 22, joined the Pars in January on loan from Cardiff City.
He spent nine years with Tottenham Hotspur while Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte were managers.
His debut in the Champions League against RB Leipzig in March 2020 alongside Hugo Lloris, Toby Alderweireld, Dele Alli and Eric Dier can also be factored in.
A team-sheet from an England U/15s encounter with Belgium from 2017 resurfaced on social media.
The post from Rising Ballers, which has over two million followers, already has nearly 200,000 likes on Instagram and has been seen nearly 500,000 times on X.
It shows Fagan-walcott starting alongside the likes of Palmer, Noni Madueke and captain Yunus Musah, with a 13-year-old Bellingham on the bench.
JUDE BELLINGHAM
Then a youth player with Birmingham, Bellingham is now regarded as one of the best players in the world.
After only 44 games for the Blues, the midfielder joined Borussia Dortmund in 2020 aged 17.
Following three recordbreaking seasons, Bellingham signed for Real Madrid last summer in a move reported to be worth up to €134 million.
England will be pinning their hopes on the 20-yearold leading them to Euro 2024 success this summer.
COLE PALMER
The Chelsea midfielder scored four, including the perfect hat-trick 16 minutes apart, in Monday’s 6-0 hammering of Everton.
The Mancunian, 21, came through the ranks at Manchester City before leaving for Chelsea on a seven-year contract in September.
He has 20 goals this season – level-pegging with Erling Haaland in the Premier League’s race for the golden boot.
JAMAL MUSIALA
Born in Germany to a British-nigerian father and German mother, he moved with his family to England aged seven.
The winger was at the Chelsea academy before returning to Germany as a 16-year-old to join Bayern Munich in 2019.
He made his Bundesliga debut against SC Freiburg the following year to become the youngest player to play for Bayern in the top flight.
YUNUS MUSAH
Born in New York while his Ghanaian mother was on holiday, the midfielder, 21, caught the eye of Valencia at the age of 16 at the Arsenal academy.
After racking up over 100 appearances for the Spanish side, he signed for AC Milan in August and despite playing over 30 times for England at youth level opted for the country of his birth. He was a standout for the USA at the World Cup and has 35 caps.
NONI MADUEKE
Born in Barnet, Madueke came through the ranks at Spurs before joining PSV in the Netherlands in 2018.
After making his debut aged just 17, the winger earned a £30 million move to Chelsea in January 2023.
Now 22, Madueke is a regular for the Blues and helped England to their triumph in the Uefa U/21 Championship last summer alongside Palmer.
He has been criticised by manager Mauricio Pochettino this week for his part in an on-field spat with Nicholas Jackson over who should take Chelsea’s penalty against Everton, which was eventually converted by Palmer.