New Dundee loanee Vontae Daley-Campbell didn’t have to look far to see the benefits a spell in Scottish football can have on a young career.
The Leicester City kid made the long trip up to Dens Park on Monday before being thrust into a derby less than 24 hours later, impressing at right-back.
And the 20-year-old admits he didn’t have to think too long about joining the Dark Blues.
Especially after the encouragement from manager Brendan Rodgers, formerly Celtic boss before taking over at the Foxes.
There was also a clear example in Leicester star James Maddison, who shone on loan at Aberdeen in 2016, a player Daley-Campbell has trained with regularly.
“Coming to Scotland is attractive because it’s a good league and it’s a great chance to get minutes,” said the former England U/19 international.
“The manager (Brendan Rodgers) told me to enjoy it, he spoke highly about the league and how it would be good for me.
“He told me this would be a great opportunity to get my career started.
“Obviously James Maddison came up to Scotland and hasn’t looked back since, there’s also been Andy Robertson and Virgil van Dijk playing up here early in their careers.
“So you look up to these guys and you see what’s possible if you do well in Scotland.”
Derby debut
Daley-Campbell arrived late on deadline day to secure his first loan spell and found himself immediately in the starting XI for a crunch Dundee derby.
The youngster wasn’t fazed, however, despite only featuring in two first-team matches all season.
“It was a good experience on Tuesday, I really enjoyed it and though the boys were really good,” he said.
“We were unlucky not to win but we will kick on from here.
“I was ready to come in, I’m happy to be here and it was good to get a game straight away.
“I had a few options but this one was the best for me, the lads have really welcomed me and I think we are a good team.
“There’s a lot to come from us and I’m confident we’ll stay up this season.
“I am up for the challenge, I believe in everyone here – the feeling has been really good.”
No fear
The youngster is also bullish about his new side’s chances in today’s crucial home clash with Ross County.
The Staggies currently sit five points ahead of the Dark Blues in the table, giving them the opportunity of opening up a sizeable gap between the sides.
The key threats from the Highlanders come from out wide in the shape of Premiership top scorer Regan Charles-Cook and Joseph Hungbo.
Though they will be direct opponents for Daley-Campbell, he’s keen to impose his game on them rather than the other way around.
“I watched some clips of Ross County when I was travelling up to Dundee because I knew we had them coming up in the second game,” Daley-Campbell added.
“They are a good team but anyone can be beaten, anything is possible.
“They have good wide players but I am not worried about that, I’ll just focus on my own game.”
