Young Fulham full back Devan Tanton has given a fascinating interview to 90min.com about his start in the game and his ambitions for the future. He owes his break in football to his mother, who signed her sons up for the FC Elite academy when she drove past signs in Orlando, and reveals that his passion for the game came from being something of a Lionel Messi super fan (weren’t we all?).
The American youth international, who moved to Spain at an early age, made the move to Motspur Park aged seventeen last January from UE Cornellà – having come to the attention of Fulham’s academy after impressing in a US youth outing against England at St. George’s Park. He has made great strides in the black and white, kicking on from being handed a two-year scholarship in July 2021, to take over the captain’s armband for the under 18s. Tanton has made 28 appearances at that level – and featured six times for Steve Wigley’s under 23s as they won the PL2 Division Two title last term.
Tanton is honest about a tricky period of acclimatising to the English game, but is now targeting following in the footsteps of compatriots like Emerson Hyndman, Luca de la Torre, Clint Dempsey and Tim Ream into the Fulham first team. Given the special bond between Fulham and the United States, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t aim high!
