'I'M SO LUCKY THAT I'VE LEARNT THE HARD WAY

IT’S not much fun being a goalkeeper when Ruben Neves is lining one up from range. Just ask Harry Burgoyne, who spent two years picking the Portuguese Pirlo’s efforts out of the net.

- Chris Dunley

“They always used to practise free-kicks at the end of training,” laughs the 23-year-old, who spent a decade on the books at Wolves before joining Shrewsbury Town in January.

“The rule was you didn’t stop until you missed. Sometimes, Ruben would score three or four in a row. It was like ‘What am I meant to do against this?’. His technique was unreal - he’d score goals he had absolutely no right to.”

Today, Neves is a Premier League superstar. Burgoyne is rebuilding his career in League One, outgrown by the club for whom he made eight appearances, including a memorable FA Cup victory over Liverpool in 2017.

But there is no bitterness. No regret. Partly because he feels the manager at Molineux, Nuno Espirito Santo, played a fair hand.

“Obviously you had world-class players coming in,” he says. “But I’ve always thought Nuno gave the kids a go. If you were good enough to go on that journey to the Premier League - like Max Kilman now - then you’d get a chance. If you weren’t, you have to move on.”

That sense of perspective is born of a grassroots education. Burgoyne may be just 23, but he has already experienced the game at various levels from National League North to the Scottish Championship.

Perspective

Aged 17, and fresh from the test centre, he was sent all the way along the A47 to Lowestoft Town.