WHEN Dominic Sadi was named on the bench for Cherries’ Premier League trip to Brentford on Saturday, there might have been a few eyebrows raised.

The 19-year-old had finished last campaign on the books of Wingate & Finchley in the Isthmian Premier League, a side that finished midtable in England’s seventh tier.

Whilst injuries and outgoings paved the way for his inclusion on the bench at the Gtech Community Stadium, Sadi’s rise is testament to his ability and persistence following his release from West Ham at under-16 level.

Weeks after joining Cherries, he found himself with the first-team squad in Portugal, and days before his 19th birthday, he made his professional debut – making an instant impact.

The attacker came off the bench to set-up fellow debutant Brooklyn Genesini in Cherries’ 2-2 League Cup game with Norwich, salvaging the game in the last minute to send the tie to penalties.

Despite Cherries’ bloated squad, he has remained in and around the first team all season, again used as a substitute in the League Cup, against Everton in November.

For AG Football Academy founder Godfrey Torto, it is no surprise to see him progressing through the ranks at Cherries – even if took the club took their time in giving the midfielder a chance.

A promising youngster himself once upon a time, Torto’s career with Chelsea came to an end due to a mixture of injury and poor advice, leaving him with the goal of ensuring other talented footballers in the London area got the help he did not.

Speaking about Sadi’s journey to Cherries, Torto told the Daily Echo: “Actually I met Dominic and his dad when he was at under-14 at West Ham, and then he got a bad injury at under-15.

“He got released at under-16. In between that time he was attending my academy, playing in showcase games, stuff like that.

“I sent him on a few trials and then he started going to a college programme and then via that, that's when he signed up with Wingate & Finchley.

“Then he managed to get in the first team a bit, whilst still playing games for my academy.

“But funnily enough, the story goes when he first got released from West Ham, I actually sent him to Bournemouth and they played him on the wing, only gave him 45 minutes.

“They told me that after that the coach thought he was quite good, but they felt they had better.

“And I remember thinking, ‘nah, they’ve got it wrong.’

“I remember speaking with Josh (Dorlikar) the new head of academy recruitment.

“I said, ‘this kid he's come to you before, over a year ago, and Coventry are probably going to sign him’.

“But I said that ‘I think you guys made a mistake when he came in last time, you should get him back in’.

“And Josh was like, ‘I'll speak to Joe Roach about it’ and in the end they agreed to get him back in.

“And then after two weeks they wanted to sign him.

“So if I hadn't pushed it, he wouldn't be there.”

AG Football Academy, who recently celebrated their 10-year anniversary in November, have seen a good link with Cherries built over the past decade.

In total three youngsters have earnt deals with Cherries after a spell with Torto’s academy, with Frank Vincent the first back in 2017.

Starlet Jaidon Anthony is the most notable example, the winger spending time with the academy following his release from Arsenal. He joined Cherries at 16, making his breakthrough last season with eight goals in 45 Championship games last season.

“I think Bournemouth is a good fit because I think the standards, even though they're not Category Two, the standards of the coaching and the teams are Category Two at least,” explained Torto.

“It's a good environment, I think, for a lot of players to be able to flourish in terms of where it is, the surroundings, the environment that the club and the coaches create.       

“I think it's been good in that respect and it's ended up being a good relationship in terms of putting players on.”