A promising young footballer from the east end of Glasgow has been selected to display his talents to a global audience at a prestigious trial event in Madrid next week.
Taylor Murray, 19, who would normally be spending his time training with local team Easterhouse FA during the week, will instead be jetting from his Cranhill home to the Spanish capital to rub shoulders with some of the finest young prospects from across Europe.
The Showcase Madrid 2023 event will take place in the state-of-the-art Spanish national team training facilities where candidates will live, eat and play on the same grounds where Spanish superstars like Rodri and Ansu Fati make their preparations during international breaks.
After hearing about the talents of the right-wing back, top football agent and Easterhouse native John Viola and his agency 451 Football Consultancy jumped at the chance to sponsor Taylor’s place at the event to give him the chance to get involved in the opportunity of a lifetime.
On Taylor, Viola said: "My mate Thomas Moran and I are proud to come from Easterhouse and we’re glad to sponsor Taylor from Easterhouse FA.
"What a great opportunity for this talented young man to take centre stage and earn himself a professional contract, he’s definitely got the talent."
Organisers of The Showcase have carefully chosen Murray to participate in the event where he will take part in a week of intense training and games with fellow trialists, all hoping to attract the attention of a multitude of scouts in attendance from a range of elite clubs from throughout European football.
With scouts from around Europe watching, and Spanish Showcase partner clubs such as Real Betis and Celta Vigo being obligated to make selections from the available talent, Taylor and his fellow trialists will be giving it everything they’ve got to have the best chance of getting a dream professional contract with a top club.