One of our most recent signing is 19-year-old defender Udoka Chima. Udoka a centre back joined on a two-year contract at the end of last week and made his Queens debut when he came off the bench against Partick Thistle at the weekend.
Udoka was born in Italy to Nigerian parents. He spent the first six years of his life living between the two countries before the family moved to England where he spent his school days. His heritage gives him the opportunity to play for all three nations, Italy, Nigeria and England.
After spending a year playing grassroots football in the North of London, as a teenager he became more focused on becoming a professional footballer and at the time felt that he was a late starter “most kids are between 8 and 10 when they join an academy, I started at 14/15. At that time, I felt that I was coming to it late but now that I’m older, I realise that it wasn’t that different. It is still a young age when I got involved. From the ages of 14 – 16, I was in and out of trials a lot and I think that helped me develop myself”.
Although his deal with Queens is his first professional contract, he has spent time at the academies of Barnet, Coventry and Norwich, but it was Burnley who picked him up and he spent two and a half years there as a scholar.
After his time at Turf Moor ended and before joining Queens he attracted the attention of teams abroad “after playing a showcase Benfica scouted me, and I went there on trial. I was offered a deal but the deal that they offered didn’t suit as I didn’t think it helped me develop as a player. Braga and Porto were also interested but that just fell through. There were a lot of English clubs interest as well, Newcastle being one of them”.
His career path has now brought him to Scotland and he is delighted to been given the chance at Palmerston “I’m really enjoying it. I’m ready for the opportunity to make a name for myself. The Gaffer seems to have trust in me, so I want to repay that. It came about when someone that I know recommended me to Allan and I joined the club on trial, and I impressed, and he offered me the contract”.
London to Dumfries is a move that a few players are starting to make and one that Udoka hopes others will follow “there is a lot talent in London so I would like to see more and more players coming up. I know that Ayo came up last season, seeing him do well did play a part in my decision but I’m more focused on developing myself as a person and a player. I personally think those things happen on their own, if you improve and do well and when you focus on improving yourself. Ayo did well so that move was always going to happen. But you need to take it step by step”.
“I have my own ambition. Every kids dream is to play in the highest division, and I want to be the best player in the world, so I want to do well and push on and see how I can progress as a player, that’s the vision”.
Having signed a two-year deal, the teenager has some security and he is now ready to kick on “100%. It’s good to have some security and see what happens. For me it’s about experience, I need more game time. I need more and more matches to gain the experience that’s all I need. I don’t think there is much I can do to teach myself; I just need game time to let me learn more about the game”.
He admits Scottish football isn’t something he knows a great deal about but is learning quickly “I know more about the Premier league than the Championship to be honest but now that I’ve seen the level I know it’s a high elite level so it’s about getting up to speed with a lot of things and easing myself in to the game. We had a game today and I think I did well, just easing myself in so I think the more and more I play and the more weeks that go by the better I will get”.
His twenty minute debut from the bench at Firhill was bittersweet “It wasn’t the result that we wanted, I came on and we got a goal but conceded a bad goal, but we will learn from that as a team. We are a new team and it will take time but there is a lot of promise and we will get there”.