The Shirt With: Southampton Striker Charlie Austin
20th November 2018
He admits that his best moment in a Saints jersey came on January 23, 2016 when he came off the bench to score the winner against Manchester United FC
- Considered as one of the late bloomers in modern day English football, forward Charlie Austin has established himself as a reliable goal source for his club, Southampton FC
- Austin didn’t have it easy as he began his quest to one day make it as a professional footballer. He spent his youth career at Reading FC until that came to an abrupt end
- At Swindon, Austin continued to show his goal-scoring prowess by netting 31 times in 54 matches, which in turn attracted attention from managers across the country
NAIROBI, Kenya- Considered as one of the late bloomers in modern
day English football, forward Charlie Austin has established himself as a
reliable goal source for his club, Southampton FC.
Austin did not have it easy as he began his quest to make it as a professional footballer. He spent his youth career at Reading FC
until that came to an abrupt end.
“When I left Reading at 15, I thought my chance would never come again and that would be it. How wrong was I? Because I chose to put my head down and work hard and my opportunity finally came,” Austin stated.
He was speaking to ‘The Shirt’ an exclusive series on SportPesa online and social media platforms that involves engaging players in partner clubs of the leading bookmakers; Everton FC, Southampton FC, Torino FC and the Tigers on what it means to pull on the team jersey in making every opportunity given to them count.
Austin got a breakthrough when he was given a shot at Poole Town FC, where he scored a remarkable 48 goals in 42 matches before moving on to Swindon Town FC.
At Swindon, Austin continued to show his goal-scoring prowess by netting 31 times in 54 matches, which in turn attracted attention from managers across the country.
Proudest moment
“Being fast tracked into the game at a later age worked for
me, I went straight into first team football without having to deal with the
youth side of it.
“Everybody loves to hear the story of how I skipped academy
football but I want to be known as a Premier League goal scorer, which I am,”
Austin continued.
Austin then spent two years at Burnley FC and an extra three
seasons with Queens Park Rangers FC before finally finding a home at St. Mary’s
Stadium.
The prolific striker has made a name for himself at
Southampton and has become a constant figure in the line-up under the tenures
of the different managers they have had.
Austin admits that his best moment in a Southampton FC
jersey came on January 23, 2016 when he came off the bench to score the winner
against Manchester United FC.
“My proudest moment in a Southampton FC shirt is definitely
at Old Trafford.
“I came on as a substitute on my debut and I only had 10
minutes to impress. I won a free-kick near the corner flag and the rest is
history.
“I would bottle up that moment and relive it over and over again because it was incredible,” Austin concluded.