A young footballer set for a scholarship in the USA has said the journey so far has been “mental”.

West Herts College student Bobby Cooper has been offered a place at Century College in Minnesota after a series of successful trials, despite having never played for an academy or professional club in his career.

Bobby, 17, from Watford, will study for a sports management course alongside playing football, and went for the scholarship with the help of United Sports USA after hearing about it through his coach at the college’s centre for football excellence, but did not originally think he could get this far.

He said: “I’m really excited, I can’t wait. The whole experience, it’s been mental.

“It went a bit wrong on the first trial, I was quite ill and did not play well, and it looked quite bleak. But on the second and third games, I just thought ‘I’ve got this’. I started trying harder, playing better, and I got it.

“I played at quite a low level, that’s what surprised me as well. I had to do it all off my own back, I never even expected to get into the college, but I progressed from there.

“Obviously I’m studying out there as well. The football is just a big bonus.”

Bobby, who has just returned from a pre-season holiday in Kavos, admits it will be strange living thousands of miles away from his mother and father, and says he is “not looking forward" to the winters over there.

But he said: “I’ll end up being alright. I think it will improve me as a person.”

Bobby will fly out to Minnesota on July 27, and his dad, Lee, called it a “fantastic opportunity”.

Mr Cooper said: “It’s an adventure. I’m proud of him, he wants to make a go of his education and his football, and he has set his mind on it.

“When he heard about it, he said ‘that’s for me’, and went through all the showcases and trials. You never expect anything these days, but we were hopeful.

“He has risen to any challenge in his football career so far, whenever he has had to step up a level he has shone, he adapts so quickly.

“All being well, it will be a fantastic life experience.”