It has been an encouraging season for Xavier Amaechi at club level, with the talented young winger making the step up from the U18s to the U23s, and he is concluding the campaign with some impressive displays for his country.
Amaechi, who is extremely quick, is capable of playing on either flank and has established himself as an important figure for the England U17 side, who are currently hosting the European Championship for that age group.
With his mazy runs and tendency to take shots at goal from distance, Amaechi has caused all manner of problems for England’s opponents as he has helped his side to reach the knockout stages of the competition.
Next season Amaechi, who is just 17, will still be eligible to represent Arsenal at U18 level but it will be hugely surprising if he was to play regularly at that age group as he instead set to be frequently involved with the U23s.
Amaechi had some initial teething problems upon stepping up to represent the second-string as he sometimes held onto the ball for too long and also found himself outmuscled by more physical opponents.
Now, though, he is starting to address both of those issues and it is anticipated that Amaechi will enjoy another successful campaign next season, one which could end with him edging ever closer to fulfilling his ambition of breaking into the first-team squad.
Next season Amaechi will hope to train with the first-team on several occasions and impress whoever is in charge as he takes further steps in his development.
A hard-working player, Amaechi is known to regularly track back defensively, which has made him hugely popular among the coaches that he has worked with.
Inevitably, given that he is still at a rather early stage in his development, Amaechi is still rather raw and he can struggle to make an impact at times when crowded out by opponents, but he has many qualities and is a very exciting prospect for the future.
Having seen the likes of Reiss Nelson and Eddie Nketiah feature in the Premier League this campaign, Amaechi will hope that, in due course, he will be able to follow suit and the performances that he has produced for England at youth level have been hugely encouraging.
Amaechi has already won the Premier League 2 title with Arsenal and now he is hoping to experience further glory by helping England to another youth tournament success.
There are a host of other Arsenal youngsters representing England U17s at the competition – Folarin Balogun, Trae Coyle, Tyreece John-Jules, Bukayo Saka and Vontae Daley-Campbell – but it is Amaechi who has certainly made the biggest impact so far.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird
Some great names there!
Good luck to all of them!
Sometimes instead of writing about how I feel, I’ll use an Amaechi.
I’d get my coat, but at this point, it has no interest in being near me either.
Love this dude