Fulham goalkeeper George Wickens wants a loan with a Football League club in the weeks before the start of the new season after his outstanding performances for Wealdstone this term.
Wickens was voted the Stones’ player of the year by the club’s fans last weekend and the 20 year-old turned down the chance to leave Wealdstone in the new year as he preferred to keep his current employers in the National League Northern Premier League. Wickens, who has kept twelve clean sheets for Stones in 39 appearances, told West London Sport:
“Don’t get me wrong, it was a tough decision and I thought there were both a lot of positives and risks going into the League in January. In the end I just went with my gut.
I was in a place where I’d set myself a goal of finishing the season with 40 games under my belt and knowing that if I do that well enough, there could be League One or League Two interest next season. It’s been really good for my development and it’s been very different to Under-23s football.
It’s much more physical and there’s a lot more things you’ve got to deal with like playing in front of crowds every week which is much better. There’s more pressure because there’s people with jobs on the line. “I just want to finish the season strongly and once that’s done, then I can set my sights on the next season.”
Wickens, a lifelong Fulham fan, says his ultimate ambition is play for the senior side.
The end goal is to play for Fulham one day but I know that for goalkeepers it’s a longer journey. I’ve always supported them and used to have a season ticket with my dad from the age of four or five-years-old until I went in there full-time when I was about 15 or 16 I think.
I think we only missed one year out of those where we didn’t have a season ticket. I remember watching all the European games and have good memories there so I’ve always kept up with them wherever I’ve been. Obviously having someone like Fabio (Carvalho) around the first team who you’ve got that connection with. It’s been good keeping an eye on people like that, they’ve done brilliantly,”
