Oli Fannon: From lifeguard to professional footballer - how youngster signed for Salford City
- Published
Oli Fannon has had quite the journey to professional football from being released by Manchester City when he was 15
When Oli Fannon was released by Manchester City's academy at the age of 15, he felt as if he had lost his love of football.
He went on to work as a lifeguard at his local leisure centre and play for his hometown side Partington Village.
But the 18-year-old found a route back to the game thanks to help from a former Manchester United forward.
Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester, Fannon charts how he went on to link up with League Two side Salford City.
"I joined City when I was 11. I spent around four years there. It was amazing and a great experience as a kid to play in one of the best academies in the world.
"I was released when I was 15 and that's when I stopped playing for a bit, which I probably shouldn't have. I should have got straight back into it but this is where the journey has taken me.
"When you get released, especially when you're 15, it's that sort of age where you need to be in somewhere because that's when you start to take off."
Games for Partington Village followed for the youngster, before a scout who knew former United academy graduate Febian Brandy got in touch.
Brandy's football scouting app Skouted has touted players across the world and provided a pathway for Fannon to get back into the game.
"I lost the love of football a little bit and I stopped playing but I just got back into it, started enjoying myself, I got into playing adults football on Saturday and I found the love for it again," Fannon added.
"A scout was watching a game who knew Fabian. He got in contact and got me in a game against Radcliffe, I played a second game against Macclesfield and they started doing events where scouts came and watched."
Providing a 'second chance'
Those games and the scouting events that followed led to Fannon agreeing to join Salford later this season subject to further approval.
"Oli had quite a few other teams in higher leagues who were contacting me about him but he's a local lad, it's round the corner from him and Salford City is a good team to be at," Brandy told BBC Radio Manchester.
"I was at Manchester United for 14 years and was quite fortunate to be there for that long. I've seen a lot of players get released from United.
"They might not have had the ability to succeed at United but they could if they went to a lesser team. But they didn't have the connections or a platform and they fell out of love with football.
"This is where Skouted comes into play. Players like Oli, who know that they can make a career in the football industry, they just need that second chance."
But was Fannon destined to consign his football career to memory or did he always know that his chances would come good?
"Deep down I always did believe I would find a way back into football but it's all just happened quite quickly," Fannon said.
"I want to get as much experience, develop as a player, work on my strengths and weaknesses, get as much game time as I can and and get some first-team experience.
"I just want to play at the highest level I can and enjoy myself."