FOULDS

“I knew I was on the bench before the game. However, the gaffer spoke to me and told me I was going on at half-time and I was just really excited to show what I could do. They were on another level, it was a huge step up for me to play against a Premier League team for 45 minutes but I feel like I did well in the game.”

“I made another appearance in the Johnston’s Paint Trophy, away to Accrington and from there I was involved with the first team in some way or another. Shortly after that, the manager pulled me and mentioned that there was clubs interested in me so I had that on my mind.”

Several teams such as Everton and Derby were keen to secure the services of the highly rated fullback. At the age of 17, Foulds admits the pressure did impact him.

“I tried not to let it impact me but I do think it was in the back of my mind. I was going home to my family thinking ‘I have some Premier League clubs watching me’ so it was a bit of pressure”.

“Fortunately for me, it was all sorted pretty sharply and Everton came in and offered money for me and the deal was done pretty quickly. Derby also showed a lot of interest in me, which I am really grateful for, but the chance to go to a Premier League team was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

“I had a decision to make, I had a lot of first-team opportunities at Bury but I didn’t want to let the chance of going to that level pass me by. I’m glad I took the opportunity, it has helped me to improve as a player and I sit here today feeling a better person for it.”

The opportunity to train and be around the Merseyside club is one which Town’s number 33 believes helped him to become a better player.

“I loved it there. Roberto Martinez was the manager at time and he had a clear pathway for me into the first-team. Unfortunately, he got sacked but I also got the opportunity to work under a lot of different managers who were all very hands on with the youth team.“

“I was always trying to broaden my understanding of the game. I think the opportunity to take part in training sessions set up by the likes of Sam Allardyce, Carlo Ancelotti and Marco Silva helped me to do that and also helped me to improve.”

“I struggled it the start if I’m being honest with myself. Looking back it was a massive jump going from Bury to Everton but once I found my feet I felt quite comfortable in that environment. I trained with the first team quite a bit so to learn off the coaching staff and the experienced players there was unbelievable.”

“The likes of your Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman were top guys and I will always be grateful for the help they gave me in my time there.”

“We had a lot of quality players in our team, Anthony Gordon has gone on to sign for Newcastle, Liam Walsh and Joe Williams have gone on to play in the Championship. I think most of that squad we had are now playing professional football at some level which is really encouraging.”

“You could tell the ability Anthony had just from training with him. It doesn’t surprise me to see him playing at the very top level and earning the move to Newcastle.”

Despite not making a competitive appearance in the Everton first-team, the left-back highlighted the opportunity to test himself against high quality players as reason for his improvement as a player.

“A lot of the injured lads would come down to play at U23 level when they were coming back from injury. I’ve had the chance to play up against the likes of Eden Hazard and Reece James so every week you were getting tested.”

“Leaving Everton, I felt a much better player but I had grown as a person as well. When I joined the club I had to move away from home for the first time so having to deal with that helped me grow and develop off the pitch as well as on it.”

“It was difficult during covid. I got a letter sent to me and a phone call to tell me I was leaving the club. That was the only safe way to give the news, I also became a free agent not knowing what would be next because of all the uncertainty.”

Upon leaving The Toffees, the 25-year-old would make the move to Italy and sign for Serie B side Como. However, this was not a switch which the former Everton and Bury man seen on the horizon.

“I never really set out to move abroad to be honest but when the opportunity came about to go on trial with Como I didn’t want to let it pass without giving it a chance.”

“I spoke to Dennis Wise who is a big name in football and he sold me on the club. He spoke to me about their vision and where they wanted to go and I wanted to be a part of that.

“I’m glad I took it, I flew out and spent eight weeks on trial. I was offered a deal in the September and my partner moved out with our baby but it was still during covid so it was difficult to adapt to life over there.”

“It got to around Christmas and we decided that we wanted to go back home. Obviously walking away from my contract there was a massive risk but it paid off in the end.”

The defender, himself a Bradford City fan, was offered the chance to join the club on trial. In reflecting on this period, Foulds believes familiarity helped him to secure a contract with the club.

“I had been there when I was younger and still knew some of the people there. I got into conversation with them and we set up a meeting to discuss it further. From here they brought me in on trial and it went from there.”

“Obviously, you go into a trial thinking if I don’t impress here I’m still without a club. Naturally, I was a bit nervous but thankfully I knew some of the staff there and that helped me to settle into it. I was eventually offered a contract at the end of the trial which was a fantastic feeling.”

“I had supporter the club since I was a young lad and it was a great experience to make my debut for them. From then, I managed to play about 20 games until the end of last season. That was my first long run of games but I’ve always tried to be as fit as I can so I think that helped me because I was physically ready when I was called upon.”

“It was a great moment to score my first goal for the club I have supported growing up so it was a proud moment for me and my family. Thankfully, the lads here haven’t given me any stick over the goal but it’s crazy how things come full circle.”

Despite representing the club he supports, firstteam football remained the focus for the 25-yearold and after featuring in every Town match since joining the club Foulds is loving life in the yellow and black.

“I didn’t want to stop playing every week. I could have stayed and fought for my place at Bradford but I didn’t want to be sitting on the bench when there was an opportunity like this available to me. Thankfully, I have managed to play my way into the team and stay there since joining.”

“When I spoke to the gaffer he made it clear what he expected from me. He also made me feel wanted and that is really great to hear so I knew coming here was the right place for me. Obviously, this season I had played against this club three times for Bradford. The gaffer seemed to know a lot about me and the way I play. He spoke to me about that and what I can bring to the team and hopefully I have repaid the trust he has put in me.”

“I had a good run in the team in the first half of this season and I think that has set me up well coming here and for the rest of the campaign. I am really pleased that I was able to come here and carry on playing straight away.”

With 10 matches remaining, the Bradford loanee is keen to remain focused and show that the team is capable of further improvement.

“I think the important thing for me is to stay in the team. To do that I need to keep playing well and doing all I can. We are taking things game by game, we have shown how well we work together as a unit and hopefully between now and the end of the season we can build on that.”