Fulham full back Devan Tanton has won the Fulham Supporters’ Trust Johnny Haynes Trophy for academy player of the year.
The talented right back, who has enjoyed a superb season for Hayden Mullins’ under-21 side, was presented with the trophy on the pitch at Craven Cottage before Saturday’s draw with Crystal Palace by Trust Board directors Simon Duke and Tamara Dragadze and academy head of player development Dan Thomas.
Tanton, who has started sixteen of Fulham’s twenty PL2 games this season, was handed his first-team debut by Marco Silva in the League Cup success at Ipswich Town in November and followed that with an international debut for Colombia a month later against Venezuela.
Tanton told the club’s website:
“It feels great. There are lots of talented players in our team, so to be singled out is a real honour and I didn’t expect it. Some really big players have won this trophy before, which makes it that bit more special. I’ve achieved a lot of milestones in a short amount of time this season and I’ve really enjoyed it.”
The youngster follows in the footsteps of Tyrese Francois, Jay Stansfield, Fabio Carvalho, Sonny Hilton and Matt Dibley-Dias, who have won the award since it was created by former Trust board member Peter Grinham.
Current Supporters’ Trust chair Simon Duke said:
“We are honoured and delighted to be able to support this award on an annual basis and it’s a great honour for Devan as it’s voted for by the people that work with him day in, day out. The names on the trophy show how prestigious this award is and it will be really interesting to see how Devan develops at the club. Marco has shown a willingness to allow youngsters an opportunity. If they’re good enough, they’re old enough.”
