Brighton & Hove Albion under-21 goalkeeping coach Mark Mason says the club's goalkeeping future is in safe hands.The Seagulls have four young keepers coming through the ranks in Grant Smith, Josh Smith, Christian Walton and Oli Wray - and Mason works closely with all four as part of their ongoing development.
Walton recently made his England under-19 debut as a sub in the 3-0 win over Turkey and Mason says he's been impressed by the youngster since his arrival from Plymouth Argyle.
Mason, who like Walton has been called upon by England this season, said, “You look at Christian as a lad first and foremost. As a person he’s very driven and really wants to make it as a goalkeeper and become a professional footballer.“He wants to get things right at the club and if he gets things right at the club then the national recognition will come alongside that. His work rate and desire is there. For any goalkeeper, it’s really important that they’ve got that to push on.”
Mason was called up by the FA to coach the best young English keepers between the ages of 16 and 19 earlier this season at a recent coaching clinic.
He was also part of the under-18s backroom team for the match against Croatia earlier this month – at the same time Walton was with the under-19s squad that faced Turkey in Chester.
After undertaking his duties at St George’s Park in the afternoon, the Albion coach drove to Chester to see Walton make his England bow later that evening.
Walton had the option of a number of top clubs, but opted for the Albion – and Mason feels it is a promising sign for the club, that young players are choosing the Seagulls, instead of opting for academies at Premier League clubs.
“Christian came to the club because it’s clear for him to see a pathway. I know that was a big thing in his priority list when he made his choice. He wants to go all the way into our first-team and obviously that was the key thing.
“He gets opportunities to train with the first-team keepers. It’s usually 50-50: 50% with them and 50% with the under-21 squad, but we've got three top keepers there at first-team level who have loads of experience. For any young keeper to be able to work with them is fantastic. Obviously he takes everything on board that Tomasz, Casper and Brez have to say.
Original article
Walton recently made his England under-19 debut as a sub in the 3-0 win over Turkey and Mason says he's been impressed by the youngster since his arrival from Plymouth Argyle.
Mason, who like Walton has been called upon by England this season, said, “You look at Christian as a lad first and foremost. As a person he’s very driven and really wants to make it as a goalkeeper and become a professional footballer.“He wants to get things right at the club and if he gets things right at the club then the national recognition will come alongside that. His work rate and desire is there. For any goalkeeper, it’s really important that they’ve got that to push on.”
Mason was called up by the FA to coach the best young English keepers between the ages of 16 and 19 earlier this season at a recent coaching clinic.
He was also part of the under-18s backroom team for the match against Croatia earlier this month – at the same time Walton was with the under-19s squad that faced Turkey in Chester.
After undertaking his duties at St George’s Park in the afternoon, the Albion coach drove to Chester to see Walton make his England bow later that evening.
Walton had the option of a number of top clubs, but opted for the Albion – and Mason feels it is a promising sign for the club, that young players are choosing the Seagulls, instead of opting for academies at Premier League clubs.
“Christian came to the club because it’s clear for him to see a pathway. I know that was a big thing in his priority list when he made his choice. He wants to go all the way into our first-team and obviously that was the key thing.
“He gets opportunities to train with the first-team keepers. It’s usually 50-50: 50% with them and 50% with the under-21 squad, but we've got three top keepers there at first-team level who have loads of experience. For any young keeper to be able to work with them is fantastic. Obviously he takes everything on board that Tomasz, Casper and Brez have to say.
Original article