Arsene Wenger has confirmed that Arsenal have signed of 20-year-old highly rated full-back Cohen Bramall for a fee of £40,000.
The left-back has left Hednesford Town in the Evo-Stik Nothern Premier Division, who play in the seventh tier of English football, in order to sign a two-and-a-half year deal with the Gunners.
Signed clearly with a view as one for the near future, he has trained for the first time with the first team instead of the under-23s or the reserves and has apparently met most of the first team players.
On the pitch, Cohen had initially shot to fame with a stunning rabona assist and had attracted interest from a number of professional clubs.
Given his footballing background and career so far, his signing is bound to come as a surprise to many Emirates faithful all around especially when they will know of the fact that he used to work full time at a Bentley car factory in Crewe until recently and then moved on to a clothes shop.
Explaining his lack of a footballing background and lack of familiarity with the surroundings at the London Colney base where he had his trials, Dan Chapman his representative and one of the first men to have scouted him at Hednesford Town describes how his naivety helped the young lad during his trial:
“Cohen doesn’t come from a football background. When he went into Arsenal training, he didn’t really know who each of the players were!” Chapman says.
“We asked him how he got on against certain players and he didn’t know at first which ones they were. But it helped, in a way. It meant he wasn’t overawed. Many young lads would just fall apart in that environment so all credit to him for not doing so.”
According to him, Arsenal scouts had been searching for a young left footed player across Europe for a year now and the 7th tier non-professional league player was the one who had ended their search.
Here’s how his former manager at Hednesford Town describes him
“He’s got the strength, he’s very quick and runs with the ball naturally – he’s a dream player,”
“He’s got it all and the better pitches will suit him. It boosts the club’s profile and shows what talent there is at this level.”
Definitely one for the first team in the next couple of seasons, Brammal is expected to slot into Steve Gatting’s under 23s presently where he ll be competing with the present left back Marc Bola for game time.
And speaking in an interview with beIN Sports, Arsene has found similarities in him and a young Ashley Cole saying:
“Cohen Brammal has signed for us”
“He’s an exceptional physical talent. I don’t think he’s ready, today, to play in Premier League but he has similarities to a young Ashley Cole.”
Meanwhile here’s how the former car factory worker has described his experience at training with the first team, meeting Wenger and his first impression of the club:
“He said basically ‘I like how you play’. So just to hear those words, you don’t get that a lot.”
“I walked in and saw everything, I was absolutely gobsmacked. It was like a dream, my eyes just lit up straight away.
“I played to the best of my ability and used my speed a lot, overlapping from left-back.
“I tried to put myself out there and impress Arsene Wenger. I was trying to be confident and be loud.”
Well certainly not much he can help with this season but here to hoping that he becomes the next Jamie Vardy and produces something really phenomenal to earn a place in the first time.
