World-beating talents like Michael Jordan, Mike Tyson, and Sir Lewis Hamilton didnโt just appear out of thin airโฆ they were fostered. High schools and colleges all around the US know it. McLaren Racing knows it. And by all accounts, Arsenal FC knows it given how they scouted four-year-old footballer, Zayn Ali Salman, while he was still in preschool (the youngest-ever recruit to the Arsenal pre-academy).
According to BBC, Salman caught the attention of the London-based football club after steadily running circles around players twice his age on the pitch (ages seven, eight, and nine).
โWe put him obviously with his age range with the four, five, six-year-olds, and already he was just head and shoulders above everyone,โ explains Austin Schofield, Salmanโs coach at First Touch Football Academy.
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โJust a lot quicker than them and a lot more willing to go and get the ball. The way he kicks a ball, the way he passes the ball was so much better than everyone else. So then we progressed him on.โ
โI spoke to his dad and he wanted to try him with the older ones. So I thought, โWhy not? See how he gets on.'โ
โThe kid is doing something that he shouldnโt be doing,โ says Stephen Deans, talent scout at Arsenal FC.
โThe way heโs striking the ballโฆ it just looked too sharp for someone that age. So I called my friend and he just said, โLook, heโs four.โ I said, โNo way, heโs not. He canโt be in nursery. I need to speak to his parents.'โ
โAnd from there, now weโre here. Brought him into a few of our sessions as well and heโs actually been doing it in real-time, so it wasnโt a one-off. Heโs been doing it consistently.โ
It was clear Zayn Ali Salman was special the moment he was born, reveals his father. Superior balance was something the younger Salman demonstrated all throughout infancy (โunbelievable balanceโ).
Arsenal FC isnโt the sole club to smell a future superstar, either. Zayn Ali Salman, who just recently turned five, has reportedly received offers from other โbig name clubsโ since being scouted by the former. For the time being, however, he appears committed to โhis favourite club.โ Loyal to the end, just like a true Gunner.
Side note: based on the presence of murdered-out G-Wagons, Gucci, and sponsored content in young Zaynโs parent-run Instagram account, it seems like heโs seriously walking down the pathway of a professional footballer in more ways than one.
