Nathan Tella should be an inspiration for Arsenal youngsters

Many youngsters get released by major clubs and subsequently find it difficult to carve out a career in the game at a high level.

Nathan Tella, however, has demonstrated that it is possible to succeed even when you suffer setbacks.

Tella has just joined Bayer Leverkusen from Southampton in a £20 million deal, with this transfer coming six years after he was informed that Arsenal were not going to offer him a professional contract.

After making his way through the ranks at Hale End, Tella progressed to scholarship terms in 2015, fending off competition from Brooklyn Beckham.

Tella featured for Arsenal at U18 level and had some encouraging performances but the Gunners still decided to let him go given that there were a lot of talented youngsters at the club.

After a successful trial, Tella joined Southampton and he eventually went on to make his Premier League debut in 2020 before gradually starting to feature more prominently.

Last season Tella enjoyed the most productive season of his career so far as he excelled on loan for Burnley, scoring 17 goals in the Championship.

That earned him a move to Leverkusen and it will be intriguing to witness his subsequent progression.

Each case is different, but this should at least give some encouragement to youngsters who are released that it is still possible to subsequently play at a high level.

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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird