Harbour View FC and National hopeful Norman Campbell will head off to Italy for an opportunity of a lifetime in a few days.
The 20 year-old former Jamaica College attacker’s agent, Kevin Cowan, says he has been offered a trial with Serie A club Udinese from the middle of February to the middle of March. Cowan is also the man responsible for former Boys Town striker Shamar Nicholson’s move from Slovenia’s Domžale to Charleroi in Belgium.
“I reached out to my contacts in Europe and was able to get the attention of the head scout of Udinese, who was impressed with what Norman has to offer,” Cowan said.
“They also got access to some of the tapes of his performances and were of the view that his performances are of a very high quality.
“This is a big opportunity for him. It shows that Jamaica’s footballers are now getting opportunities in big European leagues with big clubs.”
Campbell himself said this is an opportunity for him to realise a dream.
“It is a great opportunity to promote Jamaica and show Jamaica to the world as well as to show the skills that I have,” Campbell said. “Football is my dream job. This is an opportunity for me to live my dream.”
This will mark the second time that Campbell will head to Europe on trial as he had a stint at Stoke in July of last year.
“It was a good experience knowing that I was just coming out of Manning Cup,” he said. “I did pretty well. It was just a work permit issue for me.”
Campbell has so far scored six goals for Harbour View in this season’s Red Stripe Premier League. He is one of their leading scorers and their most recognisable players. Head coach Ludlow Bernard will be sad to lose the services of Campbell during the trial but expresses happiness and support for him.
“It is a welcome opportunity again for him,” Bernard said. “As you know, he went to Stoke last year, and that was a precursor to this.
“He is well marketed by agents and the club. We try to push his performances so that notice is taken.
“I think he is deserving and on top of his game right now. I expect him to do very well when he travels. For me, he is a very exciting player whose attitude borders on arrogance, but this gives him confidence, so I have no issues with that. What I would want more from him is consistency.”
Bernard’s description of Campbell is similar to Cowan’s.
“Norman is a very explosive modern, attacking player,” Cowan said. “He is able to attack from both sides and can also be very direct, very dynamic, and aggressive, and is capable of creating and finishing.
“His mentality is very strong and I think he has what is required in terms of mentality to survive and be a success in that environment.”
Udinese, who finished 12th in Serie A last season, has a highly regarded scouting system which has also unearthed Chilean star Alexis Sanchez, as well as Mehdi Benatia, Sulley Muntari, Kwadwo Asamoah, and Antonio Di Natale.