After only six games for Clevedon Town Under 18s the dream has come true for 16-year-old Seasider’s striker Kayden Lucas, better known by his nickname ‘Chumpy,’ who has signed a scholarship at Premier League giants Newcastle United.

Seasider’s First Team Manager Alex White said: “I’m over the moon for Chumpy. He’s chasing a dream, and this is a very positive step in that direction. He’s a humble lad and has a brilliant attitude with obvious talent, but now the hard work starts for him.

“It’s been a pleasure to have him as part of the club and help in a small way on his journey. For the club, it’s obviously a great story and emphasizes the strong pathway and platform we provide for young players to develop and for their talents to be recognized and showcased, but all the credit for this one belongs to our Under 18 Manager Lee Archer.”

Archer, himself a former professional player with Bristol Rovers, has been instrumental in guiding Lucas from his time in junior football at Milton Nomads and then at North Somerset RTC after Lucas had been rejected by other professional clubs. When Archer took over as Clevedon Town Under 18 Manager last season the first thing he did was bring in Lucas.  

Archer said: “At North Somerset I thought he had been dropping too deep, so I had a chat with him about what he’s good at and what a pro club would look for in him and at Clevedon we got him to play on the last man and make runs in the channels and he was brilliant at it.”

They say you need luck as well as ability to succeed in professional football and Chumpy’s break came in his first competitive game for Clevedon when scouts from Newcastle and Norwich were in the stands looking at other players.

It was Chumpy who stood out in an outstanding all round display, scoring four times, backed up with intelligent runs, pace and clever hold up play in a 6-1 victory.

Lucas continued to play with his mates at Clevedon scoring nine goals in his six games.  When the offer came along to train at Newcastle, Archer persuaded him his concerns about the distance from home would not be a problem as Newcastle would ensure he and his family would be properly looked after.

Lucas is the second young Clevedon player to play for Newcastle after left back Ian Davies, who again only played a handful of games for Town in 1973, made 82 appearances for the Magpies after spells at Norwich City and Detroit Express in America.

Like Davies, Lucas is not the finished article and Archer said: “He’s raw and he’s got lots to work on, but as a club it’s what you want with a kid at his age.

“Chumpy deserves it all for the hard work he’s put in and for never giving up. The thing with Chumpy is he’s such a lovely lad and an amazing individual; as a person he’s well rounded, confident but not arrogant and he has his feet firmly on the ground.

“I know it won’t go to his head and I know Newcastle will treat him properly and if it’s right off the field for Chumpy, his head will be in the game on the pitch.

“I’m really excited to see what happens next, but we’ll stay in touch, and we’ll always be here for him.”

 

Kayden ‘Chumpy’ Lucas Clevedon Town Under 18s Appearances and Goals 2023/24

Aug 14th   H     Longwell Green Sports U18 (FAYC)       6-1   (Lucas  14, 43, 68, 90+2)

Sep 4th     H     Welton Rovers U18 (FAYC)                     5-3   (Lucas 81)

Sep 25th  H      Mangotsfield United U18 (WCFYL)       1-0   (Lucas 6 pen)

Oct 16th   A      Odd Down (Bath) U18 (WCFYL)             4-0   (Lucas 37)

Nov 13th  H      Weston-super-Mare U18 (RSMC)         5-3   (Lucas 32, 85)

Nov 20th  H      Portishead Town U18 (WCFYL)              0-0

 

Total - 9 goals in 6 appearances

FAYC – FA Youth Cup

WCFYL – Western Counties Floodlight Youth League

RSMC – Roger Stone Memorial Cup