Teenage centre back Eddy Nsasi has signed professional terms with Fulham, the club have announced this afternoon.

The seventeen year-old defender, who first joined the Whites aged seven, has been rewarded with a professional deal after firmly establishing himself in Hayden Mullins’ under-21 side with a string of superb performances this season. Nsasi has made fourteen appearances for the academy this term, with ten of them coming at under-21 level, despite starting the campaign in the under-18 set-up.

Nsasi told the club’s official website:

“I’m very excited and very happy to sign my pro [contract]. I started here at Under-8s, so all of that hard work has paid off. My targets are to continue playing with the under-21s, keep progressing, keep being the best player I can be and hopefully breaking through to the first team.”

Academy director Sean Cullen praised the talented centre half’s development.

“This is a great achievement for Eddy and his family, and a culmination of nearly 10 years’ hard work for him. Eddy is a great character and the sort of person who is easy to get along with, however his personality changes quickly when he crosses the white line and he is a tenacious and determined defender, who enjoys the art of defending. Eddy has made the transition from 18s football to 21s quicker than we expected and has settled in well with the older age group, putting in some outstanding performances.”