Official: Fenton rises to Wellington Phoenix deal

20/09/2012 10:41:00 AM

The 19-year-old follows Tyler Boyd in signing one of two vacant Under-21 spots in the Wellington Phoenix squad, and has now target rewarding the club's faith in him

By EMMA STONEY

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Louis Fenton has signed a three-year deal with the Wellington Phoenix, joining Tyler Boyd and Cameron Lindsay as the A-League club's three required Under-21 players.

The 19-year-old was playing for Melbourne Knights in the Victorian State League when he was asked to join the A-League club's school of excellence in June.

He was one of the stand-out players on the Phoenix's recent tour of India, alongside fellow academy player Boyd, and has capped off a remarkable few months by landing his first professional contract.

"This has been the best year of my life," Fenton said. "Just training with the Phoenix was great. But now to hopefully be pushing for a place in the playing squad it is awesome.

"Now I want to repay [coach] Ricki [Herbert] for the faith he has shown in me.

"I will never stop working hard because that's the way I am, and I want to prove to Ricki that I am ready to play in the A-League if he needs me.

"When I came into the school of excellence the possibility of pushing for a first team start was unthinkable, but now I'm hoping I may get a chance against Western Sydney in Christchurch on Sunday.

"It would be the toughest game of my life, but all footballers want to play in the big games, and for me there would be no bigger game."

The fleet-footed attacking midfielder was on the score sheet in Wellington's 5-0 win over a Team Wellington select XI in a training game on Tuesday and is likely to start again against the Wanderers in Sunday's pre-season match.

He could even be a chance to line up against Italian star Alessandro Del Piero when the Phoenix meet Sydney FC in their A-League opener in Wellington on October 6.

"That would be awesome," Fenton said. "Normally I would be freaking out just walking past someone like him but if I want to succeed in football I can't be overawed.

"I'll be giving it everything, no matter what happens. If I get a chance in the A-League I have nothing to lose. They won't know anything about me and it would be nice to surprise a few people."

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