The tattoos on Nathaniel Clyne’s left arm tell a story. There is the toddler holding a football, an image lifted from a photograph from his childhood which still adorns his mother’s mantelpiece back in Brixton, under which is etched the message: “Baller from birth.” Then there are some of the capital’s more recognisable tourist landmarks, from Big Ben to the London Eye and an instantly recognisable old-style telephone box.
More obscure is the depiction of a sign for Stockwell Tube station, though in truth that is the most personal of the city references. “I’m proud of where I’m from,” says the defender, reflecting on his upbringing on Lambeth’s Somerleyton estate. “I remember there were signs up saying ‘no ball games’ until enough of us started bringing the balls out. Then they built a cage for football and games in that were all-action because the ball never goes out of play. From the get-go I always wanted to be a footballer.” Come Saturday afternoon, he may well be an England footballer. Elevation would surely demand more ink.
Clyne’s journey, from south London to Southampton to a potential debut against Slovenia may yet see him established as a regular at the highest level. There have been setbacks along the way, from rejection by Arsenal as a 10-year-old for being too small to the perceived gamble of leaving Tottenham Hotspur’s academy system for life at his local club, Crystal Palace, in a lower division. He has required chivvy ups from his mother over the years and has had to be convinced he belonged. At Palace he was racked with self-doubt as he awaited his chance on the fringes of a Championship team. Once offered an opportunity, against Barnsley in a televised fixture, he instantly appeared a natural: he boasts speed, technique and maturity in his defending. Since elevation to the Premier League with Southampton his game has developed apace.
Yet the raw talent had been evident from early on, when Steadman Scott and the coaches at the Afewee academy at Brixton Recreation Centre first convinced Clyne he was something out of the ordinary. The youngster, initially considered a forward, attended evening sessions and, strengthened by Scott’s down-to-earth instruction, duly attracted the scouts. “It was a place which gave young kids the chance to play football after school and show what they could do,” he says. “It was Steadman Scott who told me I was good enough to join an academy and got me the trials. They explained to me at Afewee that I was really good, better than the other kids, and that’s when I realised I could be a professional. That’s where I started playing my football, in Brixton, so it would be good for me to go back there one day and talk to the kids, tell them my story.”
It is already one of success. He played 139 times for Palace and has been a regular for Southampton since leaving Selhurst Park under freedom of contract – and a compensation settlement – in July 2012 to become the first Afewee graduate to feature regularly in the top flight. The 23-year-old duelled with Calum Chambers at St Mary’s last season, the pair sharing duties at right-back. The younger man, now of Arsenal, was duly preferred by Roy Hodgson last month, receiving a late call-up to the seniors from the under-21s, though Clyne appears the likelier starter against Slovenia having become such a key member of a back-line who have conceded only five league goals to date this term.
Regardless, the management saw fit to omit Glen Johnson from this 26-man squad, such is the confidence in the younger pair of rookies. “My relationship with Calum is great and we talk all the time,” he adds. “I congratulated him on his goal the other day [against Burnley]. I’m not sure he congratulated me when I scored against Arsenal [to win a League Cup tie back in September] ... I think he actually gave me the assist, heading the ball out to me and then seeing it fly back past him and into the net.
“Even so, I was disappointed not to play last month. As Calum was called up from the Under-21s most people would have expected me to play, as I was always in the senior squad. But I can’t let that affect me. I’ve just got to concentrate on the next games and try and get into the team. To be here now is a great achievement. I’m buzzing, my family and friends are buzzing for me. The manager obviously thinks highly of me and I’m being credited for my performances from Southampton. If you play well, you get called up.
“I’m not that surprised I’ve kept Glen Johnson out of the squad. I feel like I’m playing really well and, if I get a chance to play, I’ll try and prove it. To be first-choice at the European Championships: that’s my aim, that’s what I’m going to keep pushing for. If I keep putting in performances and gaining experience like this, it’ll make me a better player, which hopefully will get me into that Euros squad.”
Slovenia, and a first appearance at Wembley, represent the next step on his journey. This is a player who is fulfilling his potential.
