Portuguese youth international Brad de Jesus is one of three academy starlets to have signed a professional deal with Fulham, the club have confirmed this morning.
The forward thinking full back has become a regular in Ali Melloul’s side and has kicked on since being converted into a defender having initially come through the club’s youth set-up as a winger. The seventeen year-old is considered one of Portugal’s most promising young defenders having switched his nationality from England a couple of years ago and he is delighted to committed his future to the club.
“I’m very pleased to be signing at this club. It’s a big achievement for me and hopefully it’s just a start of a very long journey here. There have been loads of ups and downs but it’s been mostly positive and I’m excited to keep making good memories here. My main aim moving forward is to establish myself in the Under-21 side. I’ve made quite a lot of appearances but I really want to work towards getting consistent minutes.
There is a lot of good competition in that position, like Devan Tanton for example. I look up to him and want to take bits from his game and having him as competition is only going to do me good and push me to get better every day. So many people have helped me on my journey, but I’d like to mention my current coach Ali Melloul. He’s made my transition into right back a lot easier with his guidance and has showed a lot of trust in me in the last year and I can only thank him for that.”
Fulham’s academy director Sean Cullen added:
“Bradley initially joined the Academy as an attacking player, but transitioned into a full back at the start of his Under-17s year. He has developed into an exciting modern full back.
“He enjoys getting forward and linking up with the attacking play, and has worked hard to develop his defensive skills. Bradley uses his physical gifts to win his 1v1 duels, but increasingly has developed his technical understanding of the full-back position to become a well-rounded defender.”
