Exclusive: West Bromwich Albion's new signing Quevin Castro hoping to go to the very top
After signing a two-year deal with West Bromwich Albion, Thetford’s Quevin Castro has underlined his determination that this is merely the start of his rise to the top of the professional game.
It has been far from a straightforward path, but the attacking midfielder, who turns 20 next month, feels his last two years years shows fellow non-league players they should never give up on their dreams.
Having burst on to the senior football scene at Thetford Town as a 16-year-old, a season-long trial at Ipswich Town from July 2019 and this year, Premier League giants Arsenal and Chelsea, had given hope before ultimately leaving him disappointed.
In between there were spells on the non-league circuit with Mildenhall Town, Bury Town and a brief drop down to Step 6 with Norwich CBS last season. But through it all the former Thetford Academy pupil never stopped believing.
“It took a long time but I always knew I was going to get there at some point,” said the Portuguese-born player who had a spell in Sporting Lisbon’s academy before his family moved to England.
“Having been at top teams such as Chelsea and Arsenal I knew that there was a place for me in the professional game somewhere.
“It was just about hard work and learning really, and I am obviously just delighted the club were able to give me an opportunity.”
Castro, who has been hailed as an ‘exciting signing’ by Kevin Campbell in an article with FootballInsider247, had been on trial with the Baggies before they were relegated from the Premier League. He played for the under-23s in their final two games in May.
He said it was an issue with compensation with a Portugese club he had started out with that had held up the move and put Ipswich off signing him. But after starting pre-season with the Midlands club’s U23s, he has spent the past two weeks with the first-team squad.
And he is looking forward to pushing for a place in new manager Valerien Ismael’s side that will have promotion from the Championship in their sights. But that is far from the limit of his ambitions.
“The way we want to play this year is going to bring the best out of me,” said the central midfielder who can also play wide.
“I’ve just got to be able to play to the expectations and hopefully I will get a chance to prove myself to everyone. I never doubt myself.”
He added: “For me this is a stepping stone really as my aim is to be one of the best players in the world. And I know I will be.”
Castro’s phone has been inundated with messages since the move was announced on Tuesday, but he is
not someone who will be forgetting the people who helped him on his way.
He said: “I’ve had a tonne of messages. It is hard to get through them all but obviously I am very appreciative of everybody who has supported me and helped me to get to where I am now.”
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