Academy Manager Jeremy Sauer has praised the leadership skills shown by Archie Proctor in his rise through the ranks after he signed a pro contract at AFC Wimbledon.
We earlier today announced that the 17-year-old defender had signed his first pro deal and though delighted with the news, Jeremy added that the hard work starts now for Archie.
“Archie is a player who has been with us a long time, since the age of 11, and he embodies what the club is all about,” said Jeremy, who is pictured left above with Archie and Mark Robinson. “He really lives those values, so for that reason he is one that we are really excited about. He is in the same sort of mould as Anthony Hartigan or Will Nightingale in terms of leadership. He is a left-sided centre-back, 17 years old, and he’s going into his second-year scholarship at Under-18s, but he’s been given his pro halfway through that scholarship. That’s earlier than most, but the same as Ayoub Assal, who recently also signed a pro deal.
“Archie is a left-sided centre-back, but he started with us as a midfielder. He’s a ball player so he loves to spread the ball around with his left foot. Archie is dominant in terms of his leadership with his aerial challenges and duels. With some first-year scholars it can be a hard transition, but Archie just hit the ground running. He was soon exciting and soon became the captain of the team, so these leadership skills came out. Archie has been training with the first-team, he went to Ireland, and so far they are really enjoying having him around. Everything is going really well for him, but he knows, better than anyone, that he just needs to carry that on. This is just a moment in time, he has signed a contract that keeps him here longer. It’s a milestone, we are really pleased for him, but the hard work starts now, as all footballers will say.”
Click below for a full interview with Archie and for the video interview with Jeremy.