'Means so much' - Joel Akpobi signs pro contract after eye-catching Sheffield Wednesday debut
Sheffield Wednesday youngster Joel Akpobi has put pen to paper on a first professional contract with the club.
Sheffield Wednesday have announced that winger Joel Akpobi has signed his first professional contract at Hillsborough.
The 18-year-old, who made his debut for the club in Tuesday night’s 2-1 win over Salford City in the Jersey Mike’s Trophy at the AIG Stadium, moved to Hillsborough last season, arriving from XYZ Academy.
The Star first reported Akpobi’s presence at the Owls’ Middlewood Road training base in August last year, and he spent several months trying to impress Wednesday’s coaching staff before earning a permanent switch to S6.
After regularly impressing for the club’s Under-21s, Akpobi was handed his senior debut from the start against Salford by Owls boss Henrik Pedersen. He marked the occasion with an assist, creating Davis Keillor-Dunn’s equaliser.
Having put pen to paper on his first professional deal at Hillsborough, Akpobi told the club’s website: “I'm so happy, I've got no words! When I was younger, I used to think ‘will I ever get one’. I was on trial for so many years at lots of clubs.
“It means so much to me. I've been working so hard towards this and I was just thinking to myself that all the trials that I've had, it's happened for a reason. I’m just so happy.”
Reflecting on his debut, the winger added: “I was a bit nervous, but obviously once I got on the ball for the first time, I felt amazing and enjoyed it.
“It was actually quite hard in those first few minutes, I was like wow, this is tough! Then, when I saw that I got the assist, I was so happy.
“Even when I lost the ball, the manager and all the players kept me going into the one-on-ones. During the whole game, they were just talking to me and I was making sure I was in the right position.
“The reception was so good from the fans and it was such a nice feeling.”
Wednesday have not disclosed the length of the deal the teenager has signed.